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| Angry Cops | ||||||||||
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| Personal information | ||||||||||
| Born | Richard Hy | |||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||
| Occupations |
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| YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Channel | ||||||||||
| Location | Buffalo, New York, United States | |||||||||
| Years active | 2017–present | |||||||||
| Genres |
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| Subscribers | 1.46 million[1] | |||||||||
| Views | 426 million[1] | |||||||||
| Associated acts |
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Last updated: June 25th, 2025 | ||||||||||
Richard Hy, also known as Angry Cops, is an American YouTuber, Special Victims Unit detective for the Buffalo Police Department, and US Army Drill Sergeant. His YouTube channel consists of vlogs, commentary, and skits related to law enforcement and military subjects. Hy has been subject to controversy as police officer at multiple points in his career over multiple incidents on- and off-duty.[2] In 2025, Hy made allegations that Buffalo Public Schools had obstructed investigations into child abuse and sexual abuse crimes.[3][4]
Career
[edit]Military
[edit]Hy completed basic training on October 14th, 2005 from Fort Jackson, South Carolina as part of D Company, 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment. Hy was honored in graduation as having achieved the highest possible score on the end-of-cycle physical fitness test.[5]
Hy has served on 2 combat tours in Iraq.[6]
As of 2020, Hy is a Staff Sergeant and training non-commissioned officer for the recruiting battalion of the New York Army National Guard.[6][7]
YouTube
[edit]Hy's social media presence is known to have spanned as far back as 2016, most notably posting short police-related skits on Vine.[8] His YouTube channel was created on February 16th, 2017.[9]
Hy's posts to different social media platforms have resulted in suspensions from the Buffalo Police Department.[8][10] Hy has alleged that his social media presence has stunted his career growth as a police officer.[2][11] John Evans, President of the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association, partially agreed with these claims by Hy.[2]
Hy's social media platforms have been estimated to be worth over $750,000.[2]
Law Enforcement
[edit]Hy joined the Buffalo Police Department in 2012, starting out by patrolling the A district in South Buffalo.[7][2]
In 2013, Hy transferred to the C district, composed of predominantly black neighborhoods, then to E district, also composed of predominantly minority groups.[2]
In 2014, Hy joined Strike Force, a special unit targeting gangs, drugs, and firearms. Hy was subject to 2 use of force complaints while in the unit, though internal affairs dubbed these incidents "not sustained".[2]
By 2015, Hy had 4 use of force complaints on record, all of which were deemed either "not sustained" or "unfounded" by internal affairs.[2]
In 2016, Hy was temporarily suspended from his position without pay for violating social media rules by the Buffalo Police Department, particularly for creating videos while on the job and mostly on police property.[7][11][8]
On September 13th, 2016, Hy was suspended from the department again and charged with second-degree harassment, third-degree assault, and criminal obstruction of breathing after him and another officer got into a fight with local teenagers filming a rap video.[7][2][11] The police report stated that Hy had threatened and berated the group and headbutted one in the face after they refused to give him the passcode to their cellphone. He also chased down the same victim and choked him in a headlock. Police reported that he appeared intoxicated and that his breath smelled of alcohol as Hy presented a bag of cannabis he had taken from them. Hy reportedly also referred to the teens using the n-word.[2] Hy pled guilty to one charge of disorderly conduct and was fined and sentenced to 50 hours of community service.[7][2][11]
In 2017, Hy was suspended again for posting a video to Facebook of his interactions while on duty of a woman struggling to stand. Hy stated was due to heroin and he thought the video served as a PSA on drug addiction.[2][10]
In early June 2020, Hy was among the 57 officers on the Buffalo Police Department's Emergency Response team who resigned from the team during the Buffalo police shoving incident.[12][13]
On June 22nd, 2020, Hy was involved in the arrest of at the time New York Supreme Court Justice Mark Grisanti. Hy was recorded reprimanding Grisanti for name-dropping political and law enforcement connections while officers were trying to deescalate a fight between Grisanti and his neighbors. A 2024 investigation by the New York State Attorney General's Office found that this was unprofessional behavior constituting misconduct. [14][15][16]
On September 3rd, 2020, Hy was recorded fighting a black man while off-duty and in army uniform, for which he was subject to an internal investigation by the Buffalo Police Department.[7][2][11][13] Witnesses reported the man has been acting erratically for hours, been running through traffic, yelling obscenities, and spitting. Police and a social worker had been called to the scene earlier, but did not believe the man threatened himself or others. Witnesses then reported that Hy had warned the man to get out of the street.[7][13] The man responded by cussing at Hy, hitting and spitting on his SUV, and assaulting him with a skateboard, after which Hy claimed to defend himself and sat on the man until the arrival of uniformed officers. Witness and expert opinion has been mixed in regards to Hy's response to the situation.[7][2][13] Hy was exonerated by the internal investigation in 2021.[2] The Investigative Post noted at this time that Hy was currently assigned to D district and had previously made $99,582 as a police officer during the previous fiscal year.[13]
Hy was found by the New York State Attorney's Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigation Office to have acted in misconduct during an arrest of a 14-year-old suspected of armed robbery on July 18th, 2021 by using excessive force and referring to the suspect as "fat boy".[14][16]
On July 19th, 2021, following a pursuit of a group of motorcyclists, Hy reversed his car into a motorcyclist, identified as Curtis Lee Dean, who had slowed behind his car. The subsequent interaction between Dean and Hy was recorded by bystanders.[12][17] A lawsuit naming Hy was filed by Dean on August 30th, 2022 over the incident.[11][12] A 2024 investigation by the New York State Attorney General's Office found Hy's actions constituted misconduct.[16][14]
In October 2021, Hy and his attorney alleged in a press release that he had been repeatedly passed up for promotion due to his YouTube videos in violation of his First Amendment rights.[2][11] The Buffalo Police Benevolent Association held the position that Hy should be promoted, though its President, John Evans, noted he may not be entirely held back due to his social media.[2]
By February 2022, Hy had been subject to 23 internal affairs investigations for on- and off-duty behavior.[2] It was during this month that he was also referred to the New York Attorney General's Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office.[14][16]
In 2023, Hy was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, which came with a yearly salary of $94,528. WKBW-TV reported in September of this year that the Erie County District Attorney's Office has Hy listed on their Brady list.[11]
A report from the New York Attorney General's Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office from September 5th, 2024 found that Hy “engaged in a pattern of misconduct of escalating encounters with civilians, including by using physical force, discourtesy, and unprofessional conduct” and suggested that the Buffalo Police Department should create a plan to monitor Hy's conduct and impose consequences for any future misconduct. The report also noted that Hy had decided to return to being a detective and is currently assigned to Buffalo's D district.[14][16]
Buffalo Public Schools Allegations
[edit]On April 26, 2025, Hy alleged that the Buffalo Public Schools district covered-up and refused to work with law enforcement with cases of sexual assaults and abuse on the Unsubscribe Podcast.[18] Hy also stated that Buffalo Public Schools officials and attorneys obstructed evidence and ignored subpoenas and court orders to cover up child abuse and sexual abuse within the district.[19] This information was released in a YouTube video entitled "Your Kids Are In Danger - SVU Detective Exposes Buffalo School System" which has over 1 million views as of April 29th, 2025.[20] Hy also stated that the Erie County District Attorney's office and his superiors were also frustrated to which they replied no comment with concerns about compromising ongoing investigations.[21] After these allegations were made, Shane Cronin, a 30-year-old referenced by Hy, was charged with second-degree kidnapping, two counts of luring a child to commit a felony, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, four counts of burglary and five counts of assault causing injury on school ground after being accused of kidnapping a student from Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School in February 2025.[22][23] In May 2025, Richard Hy appeared on the Unsubscribe Podcast again where he stated an alleged student rape was mishandled by multiple teachers.[24]
On May 24th, 2025, Hy made a threat to sue WGRZ on the Unsubscribe Podcast for defamation for falsely claiming that Hy was on the Brady List during coverage related to his allegations against Buffalo Public Schools. Unsubscribe Podcast host and fellow creator The Fat Electrician stated that they were helping them build a case for a lawsuit.[25]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "About Angry Cops". YouTube.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Telvoc, Daniel (17 February 2022). "Buffalo's 'Angry Cop' alleges superiors won't promote him because of his social media activity. Is it true?". News 4 Buffalo. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ Skoog, Katie (2025-04-27). "Buffalo Public Schools responds to allegations of not reporting sexual assaults, abuse". WIVB-TV. Archived from the original on 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ^ Paden, Andy (2025-04-27). "Police officer alleges Buffalo Public Schools abuse cover-up". WGRZ. Archived from the original on 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ^ "Drill SGT Breaks Down HIS OWN Basic Training Video". 28 August 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Richard Hy Coffee or Die". www.coffeeordie.com. Coffee or Die Magazine. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Video of fight sparks BPD investigation of an off-duty officer". WKBW 7 News Buffalo. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ a b c Richert, George (22 February 2016). "Buffalo cop suspended without pay over Vine videos". News 4 Buffalo. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ "Angry Cops". YouTube. Retrieved 2025-06-26.
- ^ a b Greber, Dave (22 September 2017). "Embattled Buffalo cop suspended again without pay". News 4 Buffalo. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "City spokesperson: Controversial Buffalo Police officer promoted". WKBW 7 News Buffalo. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Kelly, Geoff (31 August 2022). "Buffalo cop in hot water again". Investigative Post. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Buffalo cop under investigation after scuffle". Investigative Post. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Kelly, Geoff (13 February 2025). "Buffalo police officer engaged in pattern of misconduct". Investigative Post. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ "Judge Grisanti and the Angry Cop". Investigative Post. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Nims, Tyler (5 September 2024). "Re: Letter regarding Executive Law § 75(5)(b) Referral of Police Officer Richard Hy OAG Matter No. 1-793388787" (PDF). Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- ^ Ewing, Claudine (21 June 2021). "BPD crash with motorcyclist under internal affairs investigation". wgrz.com. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
- ^ Skoog, Katie (2025-04-27). "Buffalo Public Schools responds to allegations of not reporting sexual assaults, abuse". WIVB-TV. Archived from the original on 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ^ Paden, Andy (2025-04-27). "Police officer alleges Buffalo Public Schools abuse cover-up". WGRZ. Archived from the original on 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ^ Becker, Maki (2025-04-27). "Buffalo detective accuses Buffalo Public Schools of failing to report abuse in viral YouTube podcast". WKBW-TV. Archived from the original on 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ^ Plants, Ron; Benson, Nate (2025-05-05). "Detective accuses Buffalo schools of abuse cover-up". WGRZ. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ^ "Man indicted, accused of kidnapping at a Buffalo Public School". WKBW-TV. 2025-05-05. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ^ "Man accused of attempted kidnapping from Buffalo school to be arraigned". Spectrum News 1 Buffalo. 2025-05-06. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ^ Buckley, Eileen (2025-05-05). "More accusations made against Buffalo Public Schools in new podcast". WKBW-TV. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ^ Fondacaro, Nicholas. "'Sue the Dog Sh** Out of You': Veterans Threaten NBC Affiliate With Defamation Suit". mrcNewsBusters. Retrieved 26 June 2025.