from the Buffalo News,

An off-duty Buffalo police lieutenant served as Patrick Kane’s chauffeur on the night the hockey star was accused of raping a young woman in his Town of Hamburg home.

Lt. Thomas English told The Buffalo News that he drove Kane, the alleged rape victim, her female friend and a male friend of Kane’s to the National Hockey League player’s home on Old Lake Shore Road early on the morning of Aug. 2.

English said investigators from the Erie County District Attorney’s Office have interviewed him as they investigate the allegation against Kane.

English said he supports Kane, a longtime family friend who has employed him for the past five years. In photos that could be viewed on English’s Facebook page as recently as Thursday, he is seen with the Stanley Cup at a celebration with Kane in 2010.

The lieutenant acknowledged that he has no way of knowing what happened between Kane and the alleged victim inside the house. Since the allegation was made, he said, he has had no contact with Kane or his family. However, he was seen outside Kane’s Hamburg residence on the Wednesday after the incident was reported, picking up litter.

Law enforcement sources told The News that Buffalo police are conducting an internal investigation to determine whether English was with Kane at any time he was supposed to be on duty the night of the alleged rape.

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