Garnell W. Whitfield Jr. is the former

fire commissioner A fire chief or fire commissioner is a top executive rank or commanding officer in a fire department. Nomenclature Various official English-language titles for a fire chief include ''fire chief'', ''chief fire officer'' and ''fire commissioner ...

of the Buffalo Fire Department in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

and a

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

advocate. He received national attention for spreading awareness of

white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

and

domestic terrorism Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...

after his mother, Ruth Whitfield, was killed in the

2022 Buffalo shooting On May 14, 2022, a mass shooting occurred in Buffalo, New York, United States, at a Tops Friendly Markets supermarket in the East Side neighborhood. Ten people, all of whom were black, were murdered and three, one of whom was black, were inju ...

. He ran in the Democratic primary for the

2025 Buffalo mayoral election The 2025 Buffalo mayoral election will be held on November 4, 2025, to elect the mayor of Buffalo, New York. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic acting mayor Christopher Scanlon is running for a full term in office after ...

Early life and career

Whitfield was born April 1957 in

to Ruth Whitfield and Garnell W. Whitfield, Sr. He started working as a

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

in the Buffalo Fire Department in 1984. Throughout his career, he served as the city fire departments's chief fire administrator, deputy commissioner of administration and deputy commissioner of emergency services. In January 2010,

Mayor of Buffalo The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of Buffalo in the U.S. state of New York. List of mayors Number of mayors by party affiliation History In 1853, the charter of the city was amended to include the tow ...

Byron Brown Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Buffalo, New York from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. He was the city's first African-American mayor and the longest-serving mayo ...

appointed Whitfield as the

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

of the Buffalo Fire Department after the resignation of commissioner Michael Lombardo. He was unanimously approved by the

Buffalo Common Council The Buffalo Common Council is the legislative branch of the city of Buffalo, New York government. It is a representative assembly, with one elected member from each of nine districts: Niagara, Delaware, Masten, Ellicott, Lovejoy, Fillmore, North ...

. In March 2016, Buffalo firefighters issued a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in Whitfield. He then retired from the Buffalo Fire Department in 2017.

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

appointed Whitfield as the assistant commissioner of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, where he served from September 2017 until September 2019.

2022 Buffalo shooting

His mother, Ruth Whitfield, was the oldest victim of the

that occurred at a

Tops Friendly Markets Tops Friendly Markets is an American supermarket chain based in Amherst, New York, that operates stores in Upstate New York, Vermont, and Northern Pennsylvania. The chain operates full-scale supermarkets. Tops is a subsidiary of Northeast ...

supermarket in the East Side neighborhood of Buffalo. He said he had been calling his mother and trying to locate her, until he found her car in the parking lot of the Tops Supermarket where the shooting occurred. She was 86 years old when the shooting occurred. Her funeral was attended by

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

and her husband,

Douglas Emhoff Douglas Craig Emhoff (born October 13, 1964) is an American lawyer who served as the Second ladies and gentlemen of the United States, second gentleman of the United States from 2021 to 2025. Married to the 49th vice president of the United St ...

. The Vice President met with Whitfield before his mother's funeral service. In an effort to raise awareness of

and domestic terrorism in the United States, Whitfield testified in the

United States Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nom ...

. Whitfield appeared on news outlets after the shooting alongside prominent civil rights attorney

Benjamin Crump Benjamin Lloyd Crump (born October 10, 1969) is an American attorney who specializes in civil rights and catastrophic personal injury cases such as wrongful death lawsuits. His practice has focused on cases such as those of Trayvon Martin, Bre ...

, who he retained for legal counsel in the wake of shooting. In June 2022, Whitfield was featured as a speaker at the

March for Our Lives March for Our Lives (MFOL) is a student-led organization which leads demonstrations in support of gun control legislation. The first demonstration took place in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018, with over 880 sibling events throughout ...

protest held in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Mayoral candidacy

Whitfield announced his candidacy for the

in December 2024. He dropped out of the race after losing the Democratic primary, and failing to secure an independent line for the general election.

Personal life

Whitfield is married to his wife, Cassieta. They live in the East Side neighborhood of Buffalo. He is a

Catholic Christian The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international instituti ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, Garnell 1957 births 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American politicians Living people Politicians from Buffalo, New York