BUFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo police detective Richard Hy previously accused Buffalo Public Schools officials of covering up abuse allegations and obstructing police investigations.
Hy made the original accusations on the Unsubscribe Podcast in April. He previously spoke with me about why he decided to go public with his allegations. You can read more here.
The Buffalo Board of Education held a special meeting on April 28 and responded to the allegations, saying it was initiating an independent external investigation.
On Wednesday night, the board held another special meeting and met privately in executive session for four hours. Members were initially set to vote on hiring an independent investigator, but instead they delayed it, opting to expand the search.
Now, stakeholders tell 7 News they feel it's necessary to make sure a truly independent, third-party firm is chosen.
“I felt like it was our responsibility to act on this quickly, and last night was the opportunity to do that," said Buffalo School Board member Larry Scott. “I am not in any way presuming guilt or innocence. But feel it's our responsibility based on the allegations, and from public input that we've received and the attention that this has garnered, that an independent, a truly independent external investigation be completed.”
“As long as it's third party, neutral, it's outside the district and the Buffalo Board of Education never wrote a check to whatever company is coming in, I think you stand the best chance at transparency at least then," said Rich Nigro, president of the Buffalo Teachers Federation. "Because the magnifying glass is on our school district now.”
“This is an opportunity for heroes to step forth....For current administrators, board members, incoming officials to take a stand and show the priority of our kids," Kareema Morris of Bury the Violence, who held a forum on student safety, said.
Former Erie County District Attorney John Flynn told me what an independent investigation could turn up.
“You could uncover evidence or information that may be useful to law enforcement in their investigation," Flynn said. "That's one part of it. But the main part of it would be: how can we improve if we need improvement? How can we improve our protocols, our practices for handling incidents of child assaults?”
Flynn said the investigation, which could be done by a law firm or a security firm, could focus on how the schools handle surveillance videos from school grounds. Hy alleged that video was deleted following an attempted kidnapping of a student at the Dr. Charles R. Drew Science Magnet School in February.
“The proper handling, storage, dissemination of video is a good place to start," Flynn said.
The school board plans to vote on the firm after posting a request for proposal Thursday night on the school district website. The vote would be held at their next regular meeting on May 28.
7 News took a closer look at two cases that Hy highlighted in the original podcast. You can watch the report below and read more here.
Hy has since appeared in more national podcasts, slamming the school district for not responding quickly to his original allegations. He appeared again on the Unsubscribe Podcast and also appeared on the Black Rifle Coffee Podcast, where he made another new allegation specifically targeting teachers. You can watch our report below and read more here.
