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 dis

See Full Page