ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Monroe County says Rochester’s downtown Civic Center Garage is now a safer place to park due to new security measures put in place.

This comes after police say a man was assaulted in front of his family inside the garage over the weekend.

What You Need To Know

  • Security has been expanded at Rochester’s downtown Civic Center Garage after a man was allegedly assaulted in front of his family

  • There is new enhanced safety lighting, increased and improved video cameras throughout and improvements to doors, entrances and physical structures

  • There will also be increased coordination with the Blue Cross Arena on enhanced security for any event held at the arena

The county calls it a "multi-faceted security improvement plan" for the garage that was initiated last year following a security assessment.

“This is unacceptable and damaging to both the family and the community," Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said in a statement. "I have ordered immediate 24-7 security at the garage — an expansion of the security we already provide for Amerks hockey games and special events at the arena."

“We have enhanced our security presence,” Monroe County Director of Public Safety Richard Tantalo said. “So we now have 24/7 security personnel within the garage.”

Police say just before 4 p.m. Saturday, a family was leaving a youth hockey event at the Blue Cross Arena one hour before the start of a Rochester Amerks game. According to the supporting deposition filed in court, the family, a husband, wife and their 9-year-old son, were looking for their car in the garage when a man approached them aggressively and told them to come closer to him while using profanity. A passerby in a car stopped to offer help, while the family tried to get into their car. The statement says the man approached the husband -- fists up.

In the deposition, the husband states, “I tried pushing the man away and he grabbed onto me and we both fell to the ground. I tried to stay on top of him until help arrived. He was able to kick me in the legs and stand up. He threw me to the ground and grabbed the hockey stick.”

The deposition describes how the man allegedly tried to hit the wife with a hockey stick and then struck the husband with the stick several times. 

In his deposition, the Good Samaritan stated, “Both males went to the ground and were fighting. The young boy in my car was crying and yelling, "don’t kill my dad.”

“There will be multiple security personnel on each level during events such as that,” Tantalo said.

The man who was allegedly accosted in the parking garage didn’t wish to make any official comment, but did say he thinks many changes need to be made.

The family was able to get away in the Good Samaritan’s car and call the police.

Officials say Tyrone Oliver, 24, was arrested and charged with second-degree assault. According to the Monroe County District Attorney's Office, Oliver was arraigned Monday, and bail was set at $10,000 cash, $50,000 bond, $75,000 partially secured bond. A parole hearing is scheduled for Friday.

The Rochester Police Locust Club says Oliver has been arrested some 30 times since 2019. Authorities confirmed that he is homeless and a regular at the Civic Center Garage, which has become home to many people dealing with homelessness.

“I would say he’s been here quite often,” Tantalo said of Oliver’s appearances at the garage.

The ongoing effort to find suitable housing for the homeless who make their way to the garage continues between the county and other agencies.

“What we’re going to try to do is try to engage with the homeless,” Tantalo said. “And we’ve done that on many instances. [We] get them the resources they need to be placed.”

In the meantime, visitors to the parking garage will experience a new expanded “order of protection” policy to bar garage entry for those violating the law. There is new enhanced safety lighting, increased and improved video cameras throughout, and improvements to doors, entrances and physical structures.

There will also be increased coordination with Blue Cross Arena on enhanced security for any event held at the arena. There is 24/7 on-site security. More personnel have also been added as the county is working with another vendor. The security team also has the ability to be more mobile.

“We implemented a patrol system with a four-wheeler -- a Kubota vehicle that allows our security personnel to cover more ground and to be more visible and to do that in an extremely timely manner,” Tantalo said.

“It’s probably good to have more security,” parking garage patron Chris Johnson said. “These new lights they put in make the place look much brighter, and that’s just the last couple of weeks. But at this point, more security is always better.”

The county says it and community partners participate in homeless outreach Monday to Friday at sites frequently visited by the homeless. This includes the Civic Center Garage. The county says about 70 people have been placed in safer housing with support services.