The seven police officers involved in the arrest and asphyxiation of the unarmed black man, Daniel Prude, have been suspended on Thursday, the mayor confirmed. This comes a day after the disturbing footage of the incident was shared on social media.
On Wednesday, the family of the late Daniel made the footage of the March incident public. The police bodycam footage shows that in Rochester, New York, the group police officers surrounded Daniel and put a hood on his head as his knelt-on ground, naked and handcuffed.
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Local media reported that Lovely Warren, the mayor of Rochester, has ordered to immediately suspend the officers involved. However, they did not identify the police officers. While talking to the news reporters, Mayor Warren said, “Daniel Prude was failed by our police department, our mental healthcare system, our society, and he was failed by me.”
She further added that the local authorities cannot continue to fail Black lives in this brutal way. However, just seven days after the fatal incident, Daniel’s family has called on the authorities to suspend all the officers involved.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that according to the Monroe County medical examiner, his death was caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint”. This incident took place nearly two months before the shooting of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, which prompted international anti-racism protests.
A local media channel reported that after filling the freedom of information act request, Daniel Prude’s family got the footage from the department. However, on Wednesday, when the video went viral on social media platforms, it prompted protests across Rochester, with hundreds of demonstrators calling to hold the police accountable.
According to local media, as many as nine demonstrators were arrested during the protests police brutality. Meanwhile, at New York Times Square, dozens of people also held a protest. Andre Cuomo, the governor of the State of New York, also called for expeditious answers.
Letitia James, the attorney general of the state, is investigating the incident as per the law. James said in a statement, “The Prude family and the greater Rochester community deserve answers, and we will continue to work around the clock to provide them.”
La’Ron Singletary, the police chief of Rochester, said that departmental investigations are also underway. He said, “I know that there’s a rhetoric that is out there that this is a cover-up,” but it is not, he added. However, mayor Warren criticized the police chief, arguing that he failed to give the full details of what happened until early August. The Mayor of Rochester further added that the only way to challenge systematic racism in the US is to face it head-on.