CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. —  In November 2017, Cheektowaga Police Lieutenant Brian Gould said he was assisting in transferring a violent offender from the booking area to the cell block when he had a physical confrontation with that person.

"As we were escorting him, I had my hand on his shoulder," he said. "The individual turned and spit directly in my face. My natural reaction was to push him away. He wasn't injured. He never filed a complaint. During a routine review of the incident, the chief felt that discipline was appropriate for that incident."

According to a disciplinary letter, Gould landed a glancing strike with a closed hand on the offender's jaw. The chief suspended him two work days, docking the time from his vacation.

Three years early, Gould received the same punishment for a social media post following a town Fourth of July celebration.

"It was a very difficult night of work, a very violent night. We struggled to keep the peace at that event," he said. "I got home from work that night, late at night, early in the morning, posted that I wish the town leaders would consider canceling this event."

Gould, who is the Democratic-endorsed candidate for Erie County Sheriff, said in both instances he accepted the punishment without resistance. Although the incidents are coming to light this week because of a WKBW report, he said he has always been willing to talk about them.

"Part of the process for the endorsement was a questionnaire. I was open and upfront about these two incidents from the beginning," Gould said. "It's not something that was a surprise to anybody on the committee and I've always been willing to discuss them."

Along with the disciplinary records, Cheektowaga Police also released 30 pages of letters of commendation and thank you notes. It included reference to multiple times Gould administered naloxone to save lives, instances in which he was largely responsible for the apprehension of suspects, and other work with the community. He is now the assistant chief of police.

"I would point to the 24 years of my career and the numerous letters that are in my file for helping people, for saving lives, for developing programs that have served our community and my history of serving the community, for people to make their decisions not based on one second of one moment in time," Gould said.

He said he is coming from a department that takes discipline seriously and the instances when he was held accountable have prepared him to do the same for others if elected.