Rochester Police Chief Fired Over The Death Of Daniel Prude

From ELLE

Trigger warning: This post contains a video with graphic content.

Two months before the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota inspired global Black Lives Matter protests, Daniel Prude was suffocated by officers in Rochester, NY. Prude, a 41 year old Black man, died of asphyxiation after police put a hood over his head and pressed his face into the ground for two minutes. He died seven days after the March 23rd incident when he was taken off life support, per the Associated Press. Prude's family released video of his arrest and other records related to Prude's cause of death, which a medical examiner ruled a homicide caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint." They're asking that the officers involved in Prude's death be charged as they seek justice.

On Monday, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren fired Police Chief La’Ron D. Singletary, ABC News reports. The New York Times characterized Singletary's and Deputy Chief Joseph Morabito's departures as "sudden retirements," reporting that another deputy chief and commander in the department were demoted. Warren had previously said that she didn't demand Singletary's resignation and that it came amid “new information that was brought to light today that I had not previously seen before.”

“But he didn’t in any way try to cover this up,” she said, per the Times.

Now, she said in a press conference that an initial investigation into Prude's death “has shown what so many have suspected, that we have a pervasive problem in the Rochester Police Department.” Warren also suspended the city spokesman and attorney for 30 days, encouraging the city's Office of Public Integrity to investigate herself or any other individuals who “violated city or departmental policies or ethical standards,” according to a statement obtained by the Times. “Mr. Prude’s death was not taken as seriously as it should have been by those who reviewed the case throughout city government at every level,” she cautioned.

Elliot Dolby-Shields, one of the Prude family's lawyers, said in an email to the Times that Warren's firing of Singletary and promises of reform “ring hollow and we still have no assurances that she is actually committed to bringing systemic reforms in the RPD."

These new developments come more than a week after Rochester Mayor Warren announced that seven officers involved in Prude's death had been suspended with pay. “I am suspending the officers in question today against council’s advice, and I urge the attorney general to complete her investigation,” Warren said in a press conference. “I understand that the union may sue the city for this, they shall feel free to do so — I have been sued before.”

At another press conference, Prude’s brother Joe said, according to the AP: “I placed a phone call for my brother to get help. Not for my brother to get lynched."

He continued: “How did you see him and not directly say, ‘The man is defenseless, buck naked on the ground. He’s cuffed up already. Come on.’ How many more brothers gotta die for society to understand that this needs to stop?”

Here's what you need to know and how you can help.

What happened on March 23rd?

On Sunday, March 22, Prude was on a train from Chicago to Rochester for a visit with his brother. Per the AP, Prude was forced off the train before Rochester "due to his unruly behavior," according to an internal affairs investigator’s report. Rochester police officers took Prude to the hospital for a mental health evaluation around 7 p.m. Prude reportedly had suicidal thoughts but only remained there for a few hours.

By around 3 a.m. the next morning, Daniel's brother Joe called 911 to report his brother had left the house. In the video, Prude can be seen naked as the snow falls, sitting on the ground with his hands behind his back in compliance with police orders at the timestamp 3:19 a.m. A "spit hood" is placed over Prude's head and he became visibly distressed, demanding the officers remove it. The coverings are typically intended to shield officers from a person's saliva, and the incident took place early in the coronavirus pandemic.

At one point while his face is covered, Prudee shouts, “Give me that gun. Give me that gun,” and tries to stand up. Three officers push him down and one places both hands on Prude's head, holding him against the ground. Another puts a knee on Prude's back while the hood stays on his head. An officer tells Prude to "stop spitting" and "calm down" while Prude can be heard saying, "Trying to kill me!" and "OK, stop. I need it. I need it." Two minutes later, Prude is no longer moving or speaking. "You good, man?" one asks, while another notices Prude has thrown up water onto the pavement. Another notes that Prude's been out in the cold naked for a long period of time. A third says, "He feels pretty cold."

Paramedics are called over and they the officers to roll Prude over they can perform CPR. He appears unresponsive and is placed inside the ambulance shortly before 3:30 a.m. According to his family, Prude arrived brain dead at the hospital 15 minutes later. He was taken off life support on March 30, seven days after the incident.

Prude's death was ruled a homicide by the Monroe County Medical Examiner. It was caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.” “Excited delirium” and acute intoxication by phencyclidine, or PCP, were listed as contributing factors, per the report.

What happens next?

During a press conference on Sept. 2, Joe Prude referred to his brother's death as "cold-blooded murder." Dolby-Shields, a lawyer for the Prude family, said one reason Prude's death had not been widely publicized was that it took months to obtain the body camera footage and no other recordings existed. He also confirmed the family is in the early stages of filing a wrongful death suit.

Rochester Mayor Lovely A. Warren said in a press conference on the following Thursday that she had been told Prude died of "an apparent overdose while in custody" by Police Chief La'Ron D. Singletary. "I only learned of those officers actions on August 4 when cooperation council Tim Curtin reviewed the video for the FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request by Prude’s family," Warren said. "At no time before August 4 did Singletary or anyone make me aware of the officers’ actions in regard to Mr. Prude’s death." (Singletary has since been fired from the force and Mark Simmons, "a member of Mr. Singletary’s inner circle" will be interim police chief for the next 30 days.)

A city investigation into Prude's death was paused when state Attorney General Letitia James began investigating on April 16, Warren said in an earlier press conference on September 3 with Chief Singletary. Next, a grand jury will review the case. All officers involved in the incident have now been suspended with pay and three have been identified in a police report obtained by the family's attorney, RochesterFirst reported. Per the site, the seven officers suspended are: Mark Vaughn, Troy Talladay, Paul Ricotta, Francisco Santiago, Andrew Specksgoor, Josiah Harris, and Sgt. Mark Magri.

Early findings from the report show an internal review of the officers found no wrongdoing in their handling of Prude's death. His death was ruled a drug overdose, not caused by asphyxia, as the autopsy found. Per the Times' review of the report, Singletary didn't speak about Prude's case over the course of 50 meetings with Warren. Deputy mayor James P. Smith wrote, per the Times, “None of the officers offered Mr. Prude a blanket or covering, and there is no evidence that this thought occurred to any of them or anyone at RPD who subsequently reviewed videos of the incident. The simple concepts of human decency and dignity appeared to be woefully lacking or nonexistent.”

In a statement to CNN, James said:

On September 4, Warren acknowledged that Prude's case was mishandled.

“Mr. Daniel Prude was failed by our police department, our mental health care system, our society and, he was failed by me,” she told press. “Daniel Prude’s death has proven yet again that many of the challenges that we faced in the past are the same challenges that we face today.” Warren also said she had spoke with Police Chief Singletary about how "he needs to do better to truly protect and serve our community, and I believe he will."

Warren went on to say she is enforcing a 24-hour rule, meaning videos from any in-custody deaths will need to be provided to her by police within that time. She's also mandated that the police department create a more extensive plan in place for responding to mental health calls in the next 30 days. Until that time, Warren asked the city to spend $300,000 in order to “double availability of Monroe County FIT Team, or retool the FACIT program to respond to mental health 911 calls." The mayor has also said that police body camera footage from Rochester PD, going back three years, "must be made public," as well as any criminal investigations into an officer.

Warren had earlier resisted the argument that the time it took for the video to become public means the city had an interest in covering up Prude's death.

“I want everyone to understand that at no point in time did we feel that this was something that we wanted not to disclose,” the mayor said during the press conference. “We are precluded from getting involved in it until that agency has completed their investigation.”

Singletary echoed that sentiment. “I know that there is a rhetoric that is out there that this is a cover-up," he said. “This is not a cover-up.” After news of his resignation broke, Singletary said, “As a man of integrity, I will not sit idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character,” the police chief said in a statement. He then added, per the Times, “The mischaracterization and the politicization of the actions that I took after being informed of Mr. Prude’s death is not based on facts, and is not what I stand for.”

At the family's press conference, Prude's aunt Letoria Moore paid tribute to her nephew, a father of five. “He was just a bright, loving person, just family-oriented, always there for us when we needed him,” she said, adding that he “never hurt or harmed anybody.” Moore said Prude was still coping with the trauma of the recent deaths of his mother and a brother after previously losing another brother.

“I didn’t know what was the situation, why he was going through what he was going through that night, but I know he didn’t deserve to be killed by the police,” she said.

Dolby-Shields said the case involved a “huge misuse of force,” and disagreed that the officers in question should be allowed to remain on the force.

“How do you watch the video and say what they did is OK?” he said, according to the New York Times. “How do you watch it and say, ‘You guys can still go out on the street and make arrests?'”

How has the Rochester community responded?

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said September 3 that he had not seen the video of Prude's death and declined to comment on the status of James' investigation. However, he said "it is under investigation and has been for months," The New York Times reports. Cuomo also said he had been briefed on the incident and that "The way it was described is very disturbing."

At the Prude family press conference, Ashley Gantt of Free the People ROC made it clear that this incident was part of a disturbing pattern. “The police have shown us over and over again that they are not equipped to handle individuals with mental health concerns. These officers are trained to kill, and not to de-escalate. These officers are trained to ridicule, instead of supporting Mr. Daniel Prude,” she said.

On September 3, protesters gathered around Rochester's Public Safety Building. Free the People ROC said some of its organizers were taken into custody. Police shot tear gas and pepper spray into the crowd, NPR reported. Then, the protest moved towards the area in Rochester where Prude was arrested as they called for the officers responsible for his death to be held accountable. Mayor Warren has since said she and the City Council ask that all charges against protesters be dropped immediately.

A vigil is also located in the area where Prude died:

How can I help demand justice?

You can contact local and state officials to demand justice for Prude:

• Rochester Police Locust Club (union representing city's officers): 585-254-5410 or email police@locustclub.org

• Rochester City Mayor Office: 585-428-7045

• New York State Attorney General: 585-546-7430 or fill out this form

• Rochester Chief of Police: 585-428-6720 or RPD.Chief@CityofRochester.gov

• Donate to FTP Free The People Roc's GoFundMe for Prude's family.

• Sign the Color of Change petition that demands the police officers involved be charged and that mental health professionals respond to medical calls, not police.

• Sign the Change.org petition asking for the firing and arrests of the officers responsible for Prude's death.

This post will continue to be updated as new information is available.

You Might Also Like

• 10 Pairs of White Sneakers That Go With Everything

• 50 Surprising Things You Never Knew About 'Sex and the City'

• 20 Serums to Solve All Your Skincare Problems