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…