The U.S. Court of Appeals in New York has rejected the appeal of a Black officer with the Syracuse Police Department who sued the city two years ago for $33 million in damages, claiming racial discrimination by his superiors.

The ruling effectively ends the lawsuit by Brandon Hanks while upholding an October 2022 decision by U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe, which found the officer failed to prove how he was harmed by the alleged actions of the department, which Hanks described as “Jim Crow” racist culture. 

Sharpe’s 18-page ruling also determined that Hanks didn’t show proof that he was illegally targeted for internal surveillance. 

Hanks filed the lawsuit in August 2021, claiming former Police Chief Kenton Buckner and other high-ranking members of the department retaliated against him after he appeared in a Facebook music video with “profane” lyrics, which sparked the internal investigation. 

At the time, Hanks claimed he was being blocked from a 30-day rotation on the department’s gun violence task force, where he aspired to become the unit’s only Black member.

Internal Syracuse Police documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show some members of the unit expressed serious concerns about Hanks, citing an internal investigation that found instances where the officer was present at the scenes of shootings while off duty.

Capt. Timothy Gay also claimed Hanks was too cozy with known gang members in the city. 

“Hanks’ association with known gang members, a convicted criminal — felony and RICO known to be involved gangs — narcotics trafficking, and other criminal activity are cause for concern when considering a transfer to the Special Investigations Division,” Gay wrote in 2021.

The memo also mentioned that Gay reached out to internal investigators to discuss social media posts that showed Hanks alongside or tagged by individuals suspected to be gang members.

In disbelief, top brass in the department, including Deputy Chief Richard Trudell, took a deeper look into the claims and found them to be “completely unprofessional and baseless” while a few of the concerns were “older and/or could have been easily determined to be unfounded or already addressed,” according to Lt. Don Patti, who supported Hanks.

During the probe, Hanks clarified that the social media photos of him were taken a decade ago with high school friends he no longer associates with and who went down a troubled path after he knew them.

In internal documents, Hanks claims he was being targeted for living in a Syracuse neighborhood where gang activity is commonplace.

“The problem is Captain Gay did not do a thorough investigation, he instead searched for a reason for me not to join, not recognizing that his allegations attack my character and my integrity,” wrote Hanks.

Hanks also alleged that he heard Chief Trudell use the N-word and other racial slurs in his official capacity, prompting Trudell to issue a statement to CNY Central in late 2021.

“I have used derogatory terms as a young child and a teenager growing up,” Deputy Chief Trudell told CNY Central, “I’m not proud of that. I am ashamed of it. I am sorry for that but as I became more educated when I went to college and became more exposed to the world and understanding how hurtful those words are.”

As a result of the internal inquiry, Hanks received both verbal and written reprimands for the social media posts, but Trudell said that should have never happened.

“No investigation was completed at all, and a list of accusations were made,” Trudell wrote to Buckner in 2021. “Furthermore, I have concerns about the manner in which all of this was brought to light and a “case” built against P.O. Hanks to essentially prevent him from going to SID/GVTF. I think the manner in which the videos and pictures were solicited in an anonymous fashion without a documented source or any degree of investigation prior to the accusation is concerning.”

Two years earlier, in 2019, Hanks garnered national attention for the so-called “Pull Up Challenge” — a social media trend that featured him competing in basketball games against neighborhood kids in full police gear. When the children won, Hanks would buy them a new pair of shoes, but when he won, the children had to do pushups. 

The challenge caught the attention of NBA star Rajon Rando, who donated 25 pairs of sneakers after seeing a segment about it on the CBS Evening News. 

Hanks was also awarded the Mayor’s Achievement Award for his work with local kids.

However, the officer’s promising career took a dark turn in early 2020 when he was placed on administrative leave for a month after he and another officer shot an armed suspect on New Year’s Eve.

The wounded man, Michael Viola, survived his wounds, and a grand jury later cleared Hanks of any wrongdoing.

Two years later, Hanks applied for entry to the task force, which led to scrutiny from his colleagues.

Sue Katzoff, who serves as chief counsel for the City of Syracuse, released a statement this week praising the appeals court for rejecting the discrimination claim.

“The City of Syracuse welcomes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decision to affirm a lower court dismissal of all claims for discrimination and retaliation against the Syracuse Police Department,” she wrote. “The complaints were brought in 2021 by Officer Brandon Hanks. The Appeals Court rejected claims of discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment and found other arguments to be without merit. The City believes this is the right decision. Mayor Walsh, Chief Cecile, and the Department leadership will not tolerate discriminatory behavior of any kind in the Syracuse Police Department.”