Buffalo firearms instructor sentenced for falsifying firearms safety training

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WWTI) — Sentencing has been announced for a firearm instructor in Buffalo. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that Dennis Brennan was sentenced for falsifying firearms safety training courses and putting New Yorkers at risk.

Brennan, 66, was sentenced in Erie County Court on Monday to a four-month split sentence. Brennan will complete four months in jail and three years on probation. Sentencing was based on his guilty pleas in July 2020.

The Attorney General reports that Brennan failed to provide proper security guard and peace officer training courses, both required by New York State law.

Both courses were required through the Peace Officer Training Academy in Buffalo, which Brennan owned and directed. Additionally, the Attorney General stated that Brennan submitted fraudulent documents to the state Division of Criminal Justice that verified proper training requirements.

“Proper training of police, peace officers and security personnel is critical to public safety and that’s why DCJS, the Municipal Police Training Council and the Security Guard Advisory Council set high standards for training and certification,” said Division of Criminal Justice Services Executive Deputy Commissioner Michael C. Green.

The Office of the Attorney General stated that Brennan has offered Security Guard Training Courses at his academy since 2016.

Before sentencing, Brennan confirmed that he accepted payment from students for the Security Guard Firearms courses. He would then give them phony completion certificates without actual training on the safe and proper use of firearms or requiring the students to fire their weapons.

Brennan’s guilty pleas are the result of an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office following a referral from the New York state DCJS, which culminated in a multi-count indictment charging Brennan with 16 felony counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree. Brennan was arraigned before Judge Burns on February 26 and pleaded guilty on July 20 to one count of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree and one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, both E felonies.

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