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Buffalo officer may resign in plea deal for lesser charge

Posted at 10:40 AM, Jun 24, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-25 10:48:29-04

7 Eyewitness News has learned suspended Buffalo police officer Rob Eloff may be forced to resign from the Buffalo Police Department, as a condition of a plea deal he'll accept in federal court on Monday.

Eloff was originally charged with at least two felonies, in connection to two different situations at Mollys Pub, a former bar in Buffalo's University Heights neighborhood.

One charge involved Bill Sager, the night he was pushed down the stairs by bar manager Jeff Basil. Eloff was off-duty, working security at the bar.  He is accused of violating Sager's civil rights, when Sager was handcuffed outside the bar.

At that point, as it was proven in State Supreme Court, Sager had suffered a very serious injury and was unconscious.

Sources close to the case say Monday's plea deal will be for a single misdemeanor.  Right now, it's unclear what the charge will be.

For that plea to a misdemeanor charge, sources say Eloff could face a wide range of punishment from either probation to six-to-twelve months in jail.

Sources say Eloff's resignation may be a condition of the deal.

Eloff is due in federal court on Monday at 9:00 a.m.