Buffalo police officer Richard Hy suspended for posting 'Angry Cops' videos

A Buffalo police officer and Iraq war veteran has been suspended for 30 days without pay and is facing 51 departmental charges for making fun of his job in online videos. Richard Hy, of the Buffalo Police Department, New York, shared the clips on Twitter, Instagram and Vine accounts under the username AngryCops.

A Buffalo police officer and Iraq war veteran has been suspended for 30 days without pay and is facing 51 departmental charges for making fun of his job in online videos.

Richard Hy, of the Buffalo Police Department, New York, shared the clips on Twitter, Instagram and Vine accounts under the username AngryCops.

The comedy videos show him misbehaving on duty - sometimes taking drugs, playing hooky or shooting a suspect for no apparent reason - while wearing a police uniform.

In one of them, Hy excitedly tells the camera he just stole 'a bunch of coke' from the evidence locker while holding a bag of white powder, some of it smeared on his face and under his nose.

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Richard Hy, of the Buffalo Police Department, New York, has been suspended without pay for 30 days and faces 51 departmental charges for his humorous videos (pictured) Hy shared the clips (pictured), which show him making fun of himself and his job, on platforms such as Vine, Twitter and Instagram

Richard Hy, of the Buffalo Police Department, New York, has been suspended without pay for 30 days and faces 51 departmental charges for his humorous videos (pictured). He shared the clips, which show him making fun of himself and his job, on platforms such as Vine, Twitter and Instagram

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Another clip shows him pretending to shoot a suspect, saying he's out of vacation days, before yelling in the wounded suspect's direction: 'Shut up, I barely grazed you!'

A post also depicts Hy deciding to call in sick and binge-watch Netflix instead of going to work and 'catch some bad guys, hookers too'.  

Investigators say Hy was wearing his uniform in the videos, which violates the department's social media rules. They also say he shot some of the clips in police buildings while he was on duty, Buffalo News reported.

Hy's friends say he wasn't wearing his real uniform but a costume, and that he recorded the videos during his private time.

Buffalo police officers are allowed to be on social media but cannot appear in their uniform or show themselves as officers. 

Hy was suspended last month for violating the department's social media policy and faced ten departmental charges at the time. He has now been hit with 41 additional charges after further investigation, Buffalo News reported. The clips that led to the investigation have now been taken down. 

In one of the videos (pictured), Hy excitedly tells the camera he just stole 'a bunch of coke' from the evidence locker while holding a bag of white powder Another clip (pictured) shows him shooting a suspect and saying he's out of vacation days before yelling in the wounded person's direction: 'S**t up, I barely grazed you!'

In one of the videos (left), Hy excitedly tells the camera he just stole 'a bunch of coke' from the evidence locker while holding a bag of white powder. Another clip (right) shows him shooting a suspect and saying he's out of vacation days before yelling in the wounded person's direction: 'Shut up, I barely grazed you!'

The department also says Hy violated its media policy by talking to the New York Daily News, Buffalo News wrote.

Hy was quoted in a New York Daily News story saying he hadn't acted for malice and thought the videos were harmless fun.

Another Buffalo officer, who was not named, told Buffalo News that Hy had responded to the New York Daily News's request by saying he couldn't make a statement on behalf of the department. 

In addition to his work as a police officer, Hy was a sergeant in the Army Reserve and was deployed twice in Iraq, earning a Combat Action Badge, Buffalo News reported. 

A GoFundMe page set up to raise funds to help Hy during his unpaid leave has collected more than $1,700 so far. Hy has refused the funds and instructed that they be donated to the Fallen Officer Foundation instead.

'The Vine videos help break down the stigma and social barriers between police officers and the community they protect,' the page reads. 'We all know how stressful this job can be. Laughter is one way to release that stress.'

Hy and his attorney have met with the investigators and will discuss the charges with them during an informal hearing.

A fellow officer said the videos (pictured) were a way to make police officers appear more human and served as a stress reliever. Investigators say Hy was wearing his uniform in the videos, which violates the department's rules, but Hy's friends say it was a costume

A fellow officer said the videos (pictured) were a way to make police officers appear more human and served as a stress reliever. Investigators say Hy was wearing his uniform in the videos, which violates the department's rules, but Hy's friends say it was a costume

 

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