Federal court rules Syracuse officer did not use excessive force during fatal Father’s Day shooting

New York — A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that a Syracuse police officer did not use excessive force when she fired toward a group of people firing guns during a chaotic Father’s Day barbecue nearly a decade ago.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower court decision to dismiss a lawsuit that was filed by Evelyn Tennyson, who was shot in the leg. It is one of two lawsuits related to the incident.

The police officer, Kelsey Francemone, rushed alone toward gunfire that broke out at the large barbecue on Syracuse’s Near West Side on June 19, 2016. She shot and killed Tennyson’s fiancée, Gary Porter, after the officer said he turned toward her with a gun.

Tennyson later filed a lawsuit. Chief U.S. District Judge Brenda Sannes dismissed the case in September 2024, ruling that Francemone’s actions were protected by a legal defense called qualified immunity.

The qualified immunity defense, established by the U.S. Supreme Court, protects government officials like police officers from being held legally responsible in certain situations.

Police officers cannot be held liable in civil cases unless similar actions have already been found unconstitutional in a previous court case.

The panel of three appellate judges, which is based in Manhattan, said in an eight-page decision that the extent of Tennyson’s injuries supports the argument that Francemone’s conduct was “not objectively unreasonable.”

“Although we do not mean to denigrate the seriousness of Tennyson’s wound, her injury was sustained during a chaotic gunfight initiated by third parties,” the judges wrote. “Even assuming that Francemone fired the shot that struck Tennyson — which, again, is a disputed fact — there can be no doubt that Tennyson and other innocent bystanders might have been killed if Francemone had not confronted the shooters as she did."

A second lawsuit was filed in connection with the barbecue incident by Porter’s daughter, Tanajee Maddox.

The Porter case went to trial this spring and put the actions of Francemone, who at the time had been with the department for less than two years, under a microscope.

Eight jurors found in May that Francemone used excessive force when she fatally shot Porter, 41. They awarded $10,000 in damages to Porter’s estate for conscious pain and suffering.

The jurors, however, also appeared to agree with key parts of Francemone’s testimony. They told the judge they believed she did face a man who had a gun and was shooting at the crowded party.

Sannes later ruled that Francemone was protected by the qualified immunity defense, essentially zeroing out the verdict and the awarded damages.

An appeal in the case is pending before the Second Circuit.

Francemone ran by herself that June 2016 night toward gunfire that had erupted at the barbecue at the James Geddes public housing complex.

People at the barbecue began stampeding away from the shots, creating a chaotic scene. Officials would later say at least 37 shots were fired.

Francemone found three people shooting from near a car in a small parking lot off Tully Street on the southern side of the housing complex.

She testified during the trial that she had repeatedly identified herself as a police officer, and ordered the shooters to drop their guns. She fired several times toward the shooters.

Francemone fired twice at a man she said she saw turning toward her with a gun at her as he ran.

People attending the barbecue pounced twice on Francemone after she shot Porter, stealing items from her uniform and striking her with a glass bottle.

Witnesses for the plaintiff disputed many aspects of her account.