IRA/Investigative Research Associates FAX (972) 889-3338

Confidential Report (For discussion of this report please call (972) 889-3333)

TYPE OF INVESTIGATION: Background Investigation

We were requested to investigate the case of Bradley Kyler, in Salamanca, NY, as to two issues. First, we were to investigate as to whether the Salamanca Police Department has “singled him out” for harassment. Second, we were to investigate the nature of the deal made with the drug enforcement task force, and whether the police have held to their side of the deal. We report to you as follows in regards to both issues:

ISSUE OF THE DEAL WITH POLICE. On the night of 12-8-09, we interviewed Bradley Kyler, and he spoke very convincingly, that the deal that he made with the police was as follows: That if Bradley assisted the police as undercover agent in a drug deal in Buffalo, NY, that in exchange for his help, he would be given no more than one years probation on his cases; furthermore, he would be provided protection, he and his family. Mr. Kyler explains very eloquently how the police failed to abide by their deal, and has left him to “fend for himself” in the matter, facing a three year sentence in prison with the very persons he helped the police put behind bars. Mr. Kyler said that he was given congratulations for his good work as an undercover agent by Officer Eric Butler, with the drug enforcement task force. Since his arrest on charges, however, Mr. Butler has refused any conversation with Brad Kyler. We refer you to the tape recorded video/audio interview with Mr. Kyler for all details of the deal.

Mr. Eric Butler. We went to the Cattarragus County Sheriff’s Department to interview Mr. Butler, who we believed, would be critical in obtaining information on the deal they made with Mr. Kyler. However, on our arrival on 12-9-09, we were told that Eric Butler was on “medical leave” and his return to work was unknown. In his absence we asked for his supervisor, who was identified as Mr. Yehl. We waited the better part of the morning for Mr. Yehl to be done with another meeting, but we finally spoke to him, as follows:

Mr. Yehl, Cattarragus County Sheriff’s Department. Mr. Yehl provided little in the way of substantive information about the deal. He said since this deal involved an “open” case, there was little he could discuss with us

NAME OF SUBJECT

Bradley KylerReference N/S

RequesterDiop KamauPoliceabuse.com

Date Of LossN/S

Inv.No.N/S

Date12-15-2009

about it. He did say that he would get in touch with Eric Butler about the matter, but he would not say anything as to the terms of the deal, or whether he felt

that the police did not follow through with their part of the deal. Finally he said that there was no written policy that the Sheriff’s department or the drug enforcement task force has regarding the treatment of confidential informants.

There is another policeman that may have information about the deal, as Brad Kyler informed us that a “Tustin Swift” [or Dustin Swift] of the Salamanca Police Department, was present when the deal was made; however, when we were in Salamanca, NY, doing the investigation, we were told by the Salamanca Police Department, that he was on vacation, for the week, and would not be back until the following Monday.

[Note that Mr. Greg Miller tried to assist us in quickly locating a residential address for Tustin Swift, but was unsuccessful in doing so.]

ISSUE OF HARRASSMENT BY THE LOCAL POLICE. In this regard, we again refer you to the interview with Brad Kyler, where he refers to over 50 citations that he has received from the local Salamanca Police Department. In fact, we received a list from Mr. Kyler, of the citations he has received to his knowledge, and this list is attached for your consideration.

Mr. Kyler also provided us a six-page listing of citations on his New York driver’s license transcript, which shows again, numerous issues that he has on his record.

To substantiate the number of citations and issues that Brad Kyler has been involved in, we went to the the Salamanca Police Department, and submitted a “FOIL” request. Please refer to the letter from the Salamanca Police Department, which acknowledges our request, and the fact that they are working on our request.

We were quoted the charge of .25/page for reproduction of the records. This is in stark contrast to a rate of $5.00 per record, that was quoted to Brad Kyler.

Officer Paul Myers, Salamanca Police Dept. While we were at the Salamanca Police Department obtaining records, we interviewed this officer. Mr. Paul Myers was identified by Brad Kyler, as one of the officers that has been involved in “singling out” Brad Kyler for harassment.

We identified ourselves as a private investigator in regards to Brad Kyler. He immediately replied, “is this about his lawsuit?” When we asked him to be specific about the issue of harassment by the police force, he had “no comment.” For further details, we refer you to the tape recorded interview, “17230” on the “Police Interview” disc.

Chief Troy Westfall, Salamanca Police Dept. Mr. Westfall has no kind words for Brad Kyler. He clearly states that he doesn’t like Bradley. Westfall that he himself was the “victim” in the matter of his jumping on the four-

wheeler that Bradley Kyler was driving at his grandmothers. For further details, we refer you to the tape recorded interview, “17236” on the “Police Interview” disc.

Officer Hutchison, Cattaragus County Courthouse. This person was the chief of police in Salamanca prior to the present chief Westfall taking his place.

We asked to interview him since Bradley Kyler thought he might know something about the inner workings of the PD, and Bradley thought he may have quit the force in Salamanca due to disagreements he may have had with them. However, such was not the case. He tells us that he “retired” from the police force, and did not give an unfavorable report on the existing Salamanca PD. Further, he said that Bradley was always getting into trouble of some sort, and he knew nothing about “singling Bradley out” for attention or harassment by the force. For further details, we refer you to the tape recorded interview, “17237” on the “Police Interview” disc.

Tyler Early (716-307-9397). This person is a personal friend of Bradley Kyler. He has grown up with Bradley, and is a firm believer that the Salamanca Police Force has singled him out for attention. The most specific and blatant example of this is when Tyler sold an old vehicle to Bradley several years back. Tyler had driven the “junker” for several years, and never been pulled over while driving it. However, when he sold it to Bradley for $50, the instant the police saw Bradley driving the same car, he was pulled over (six time in one day even) for driving around a “clunker.” (Please refer to his audiotaped interview for details.)

Cassie Arena (716-244-8923). This is another personal friend of Bradley’s. She recounted a recent event when she was driving in her car, and Bradley was in the back seat. She was pulled over by a Salamanca Police squad car, and when they approached her car, instead of asking her for her ID, they recognized Bradley in the vehicle, and instead went to his ID, “ran him,” totally ignoring her and the initial reason she was pulled over.

Furthermore, she has a relative, Victor Arena, who is a sheriff for the county. She remembers Victor Arena telling her when he began his career in law enforcement with the Salamanca Police Department. On his first day of training, one of the Salamanca policemen told him to “watch Bradley Kyler.” Ms. Arena declined to put this part on audiotape, as Victor Arena told her this in confidence. She did not want it to go on record.

Ms. Felicia Buffalo. This is the girlfriend of Bradley Kyler, they have been together for about 4-5 years. She remembers an incident 1 ½ years ago, she had too much to drink, and fell down at their home, down the stairs. Bradley got worried about her, called the Salamanca PD, but when they got there, they tried to implicate Bradley Kyler in an assault situation against Felicia, and finally since that did not work, arrested him on a drug charge, trumped up, since they could not find anything else to arrest him for. She is convinced that the police department has singled Bradley out for their harassment. We refer you to audiotape interview 217241 for details.

Brad Kyler’s grandmother, Pat Kyler, and her friend, Bill Brooks. Both of these individuals, especially Bill Brooks, thinks the police department in Salamanca is corrupt. In regards to the 4-wheeler incident, she believes it was an unprovoked attack by Troy Westfall. The incident occurred on the grandmother’s property. Bill Brooks also believes that Bradley has been singled out by the PD. We refer you to audiotape interview 217235 for details.

Jackie Bialaszewski. A personal friend of Bradley’s, she supports the notion that the police harass Bradley. She also was at the incident where Troy Westfall jumped on the 4-wheeler while Bradley Kyler was driving it. We refer you to audiotape interview 217234 for details.

OTHER INFORMATION. We have received a letter back from the Salamanca City Clerk, informing us that the records are ready to be copied. The cost for copying them is $27, at .25/page. We have included this letter with the report. Let us know if we should incur the $27 for records.

CATTARAUGUS COUNTY CLERK. We checked with the county clerk’s office, that has the records for any felony case. We have included the records in the name of Bradley Kyler, for your review. There are two situations, including the present drug situation, where Bradley was indicted on multiple counts of drug possession/sale; and another earlier situation in 2006. We refer you to the attached printouts for details.

Further Handling. We suggest further contact with Eric Butler. He would be the one to know more about the deal involving Brad. Furthermore, our suggestion is that we proceed by paying the $27 to get the entire dossier of Bradley Kyler from Salamanca Police Department.

Diop, this concludes our investigation, and we thank you for the opportunity to have been of assistance. Please give us a call at 972-889-3333, if you have any questions.

Bill AlbrightManager of Investigations