Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Buffalo police detective and YouTuber Richard Hy has recently filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the City of Buffalo for being passed over on promotions within the department due to his presence on social media.
Hy, who has been posting content on his "Angry Cops" channel for more than nine years now, says his content on social media started years prior when the mobile app Vine was still around. He says there's been police officers and firefighters in Buffalo that have been active on social media while employed by the city that have not faced as much scrutiny as he has.
"There's been a lot of people in the Buffalo Police Department, City of Buffalo Firemen that have been quite the opposite of me, pushed forward in the public eye and said, 'Hey, look at these great officers! They're doing a great job on social media. Let's put them out on more social media things! Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, television networks, etc.' And then you've got me, the guy that started on Vine, that for some reason, one form of the other, is treated completely differently than all these other officers. It was very frustrating, and being skipped over for promotions was a part of that," said Hy during an appearance with David Bellavia on WBEN.
The issues with the promotions hasn't happened since he's been a detective, rather it was before then.
"Since 2017 up until I was promoted in 2023, that's the time period that my social media had taken off," Hy said on Thursday.
"My peers that have taken the exams with me back in 2017 to the three other exams that I had taken after that one were all promoted ahead of me, even though I scored higher than some of them - in fact, for two of those exams, for an entire lieutenant's exam and for an entire detective's exam - I was the only person skipped out of every single person that took, cast and was on the list for promotion for those two separate ranks during that time period."
Hy feels he's been singled out specifically for his social media activity, and had to sign a contract with the Buffalo Police Department stating he was not to post anything law enforcement related on his channel. If it was deemed that he was in violation of the contract, he was to be sent to an immediate arbitrator and then fired.
"Other police officers are being paraded around, allowed to promote the Buffalo Police Department on their social media, which I'm fine with. What upsets me is the way I was singled out, and even had to sign a contract," Hy said. "The only police officer in the Buffalo Police Department to sign a contract stating I am not allowed to go on social media and discuss any law enforcement activity. Period, or I will be fired."
Hear more from Hy's appearance in the player above.
"What upsets me is the way that I was singled out" - Richard Hy
"What upsets me is the way that I was singled out" - Richard Hy
