Military police enforce driving ban in snow-stricken Buffalo

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By CAROLYN THOMPSON and JENNIFER PELTZ 25 minutes ago

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — State and military police were sent Tuesday to keep people off Buffalo’s snow-choked roads, and officials kept counting fatalities three days after western New York’s deadliest storm in at least two generations.

Even as suburban roads and most major highways in the area reopened, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz warned that police would be stationed at entrances to Buffalo and at major intersections because some drivers were flouting a ban on driving within New York’s second-most populous city.

More than 30 people are reported to have died in the region, officials said, including seven storm-related deaths announced Tuesday by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s office. The toll surpasses that of the historic Blizzard of 1977, blamed for killing as many as 29 people in an area known for harsh winter weather.

Greg Monett turned to social media to beg for help shoveling a 6-foot (1.8-meter) pile of snow from the end of his Buffalo driveway so he could get dialysis treatment Tuesday.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/weather-new-york-buffalo-storms-blizzards-ad784edee566b5ab473c9ffca98dd5bd?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_02

[yankee87]

1. So scary

I feel so bad for my friends in buffalo. That last paragraph was especially bad. Good karma from Cleveland

[cstanleytech]

2. While I miss snow I don't miss the shoveling of it.

[Aristus]

3. Hear that, all you you-can't-interfere-with-my-freedom types?

Go against an MP. Try it and see what happens.

[melm00se]

7. I am not sure the level of authority

MPs have over civilians.

Do they have arresting authority?

[LudwigPastorius]

9. There isn't any law that I know of that gives them that authority.

There has been traditional precedent that allows the military to do limited policing though:

Immediate Response Authority

DOD doctrine allows commanders to provide resources and assistance to civil authorities without or prior to a declaration under the Stafford Act when a disaster overwhelms the capabilities of local authorities and necessitates immediate action “to save lives, prevent human suffering, or mitigate great property damage.” Immediate response actions can include the types of activities authorized under the Stafford Act, including, at the request of civil authorities, rescue, evacuation, and emergency medical treatment, restoration of essential public services, debris removal, controlling contaminated areas, safeguarding and distributing food and essential supplies, and supplying interim emergency communications. The controlling directive does not require a request from state or local officials, but states that “DOD Components shall not perform any function of civil government unless absolutely necessary on a temporary basis under conditions of Immediate Response. Any commander who is directed, or undertakes, to perform such functions shall facilitate the reestablishment of civil responsibility at the earliest time possible.”

The immediate response authority is not provided for in any statute, but is said to have deep historical roots. While the immediate response authority does not constitute an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, in some cases it may appear so. The potential exists for a disaster relief situation, under which DOD invokes the immediate response authority, to rapidly deteriorate into a civil disturbance. Law enforcement activities in connection with a civil disturbance are an exception to the PCA. Therefore, DOD would be able to assist civil authorities with both disaster relief and law enforcement, simultaneously, under separate authorities.

https://sgp.fas.org/crs/natsec/RS22266.pdf

As a practical matter, I doubt many citizens are going to argue with a member of the military carrying a weapon. ...even if it is their right to refuse orders.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. It will be a popular bastion though when world temperatures pass 109F

Gotta get me to Buffalo!

[cloudbase]

5. We're gonna shuffle off. n/t

[marybourg]

6. I hope Mr. Monett's dialysis center was open today.

But seems unlikely. AP didn’t follow up and inquire.

[LeftInTX]

8. Should start to thaw tomorrow!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

10. With that much snow, a forecast of rain is not a welcome thing.

Flooding will happen. Street drains will clog with ice and debris, basements will back up.

On a brighter note, Niagara Falls should be roaring.