The Veterans of Foreign Wars dismantled a chapter created by and for incarcerated veterans after Buffalo Police Officer Richard Hy, who operates a YouTube channel called “Angry Cops,” led a campaign of online outrage against it. Hy’s documented misconduct record includes 23 internal affairs investigations and 8 formal complaints to the New York State Attorney General. The VFW’s capitulation was not the result of any wrongdoing inside the chapter. It was the result of institutional cowardice in the face of online pressure from a cop with a documented history of misconduct.
There is nothing Clutch Justice despises more than a bully with a badge. This story has one of the biggest I’ve encountered.
His name is Richard Hy. He is a Buffalo, New York police officer. And his documented misconduct record is not a rumor, not speculation, not a grudge from an anonymous source. It is public record.
What Richard Hy’s Record Actually Says
This is the man whose outrage the VFW chose to honor. Let that sit.
The Story He Tried to Bury
Ryan Krueger is an incarcerated veteran and a contributor to the Prison Journalism Project. He wrote a piece for the VFW’s magazine about a chapter created by and for incarcerated veterans. It wasn’t a fluff piece. It was honest, redemptive, and powerful. It told the story of people who served this country, found themselves in the worst circumstances of their lives, and built something meaningful inside of them anyway.
Then came Hy. He posted a video framing the chapter as a scandal. His followers responded with the predictable online mob behavior: harassment, pressure, noise. And the VFW, an organization whose stated purpose is to support veterans, caved. They dismantled the chapter. No wrongdoing found inside it. No violation of any rule. Just bad optics with a bad-faith audience.
The VFW did not close the chapter because veterans behaved badly. They closed it because a cop with two dozen IA investigations made a YouTube video and his followers got loud. That is not institutional integrity. That is institutional cowardice.
The Irony He Apparently Cannot See
Hy mocks citizen detectives on his platform. He has a large following of law enforcement professionals who apparently never thought to look into his own background. Either they looked and did not care, or they are genuinely not great at the work they claim to celebrate. Pick one.
It is worth noting that Hy has alleged his superiors won’t promote him due to his social media activity. According to WIVB reporting, Buffalo PD leadership has offered a different account. The documented record suggests other factors may be more relevant than his YouTube channel.
What the VFW’s Decision Actually Signals
When a legacy veterans’ organization dismantles a chapter for justice-impacted veterans under pressure from an officer with 23 IA investigations, it signals that its stated commitment to all veterans is conditional. The condition, apparently, is that those veterans not embarrass the organization online.
Incarcerated veterans are still veterans. They served. They sacrificed. Many carry invisible wounds from combat, trauma, homelessness, and substance use disorders that led, directly or indirectly, to their incarceration. The VFW chapter in question was not promoting crime. It was promoting structure, accountability, and purpose inside a facility. That is exactly what every veteran advocacy organization claims to want.
The VFW chose not to stand by those veterans when it cost something. That is a choice. It deserves to be named as one.
What You Can Do
Contact VFW national leadership and demand they reinstate the chapter. Tell them institutional integrity is not compatible with capitulating to online mobs led by officers under documented investigation.
Write to Buffalo PD leadership. An officer with 23 internal investigations and 8 AG complaints should not still be generating more bad press for their department. Demand accountability.
If you have personally been the subject of misconduct by Richard Hy, report it to the New York Attorney General’s Office. The documented AG findings from 2024 are publicly available.
The veterans behind bars who found purpose through that chapter deserved better. Ryan Krueger deserved better. The VFW had a choice. They made the wrong one.
Let those institutions that prioritize image over integrity fail. The ones built to replace them will be stronger for it.
Sources and Documentation
Rita Williams, How the VFW Bows to Bullies: The Shameful Fallout of the Angry Cops Scandal, Clutch Justice (July 20, 2025), https://clutchjustice.com/2025/07/20/how-the-vfw-bows-to-bullies-the-shameful-fallout-of-the-angry-cops-scandal/.
Williams, R. (2025, July 20). How the VFW bows to bullies: The shameful fallout of the Angry Cops scandal. Clutch Justice. https://clutchjustice.com/2025/07/20/how-the-vfw-bows-to-bullies-the-shameful-fallout-of-the-angry-cops-scandal/
Williams, Rita. “How the VFW Bows to Bullies: The Shameful Fallout of the Angry Cops Scandal.” Clutch Justice, 20 July 2025, clutchjustice.com/2025/07/20/how-the-vfw-bows-to-bullies-the-shameful-fallout-of-the-angry-cops-scandal/.
Williams, Rita. “How the VFW Bows to Bullies: The Shameful Fallout of the Angry Cops Scandal.” Clutch Justice, July 20, 2025. https://clutchjustice.com/2025/07/20/how-the-vfw-bows-to-bullies-the-shameful-fallout-of-the-angry-cops-scandal/.
