Hundreds of New York residents protested a grand jury’s decision not to file charges in connection to the death of Daniel Prude, who died while in police custody.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday that her office “concluded there was sufficient evidence surrounding Mr. Prude’s death to present the case to a grand jury, and we presented the most comprehensive case possible.”
PROTESTS OVER THE DEATH OF DANIEL PRUDE IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, GET VIOLENT
Protesters in Rochester expressed their discontent with James’s announcement. The protest left the Public Safety Building and walked across I-490 westbound, according to the Democrat & Chronicle. While the protesters and law enforcement officials stood toe-to-toe at points, there were no apparent physical clashes and there were no arrests made.
Prude was allegedly acting erratically on March 23, 2020, while visiting family in Rochester, and law enforcement officers arrived to assist. Footage surfaced weeks later, showing the 41-year-old naked with a hood over his face while officers tried to restrain him. He died of “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint,” according to an official medical examination.
“Daniel Prude was in the throes of a mental health crisis and what he needed was compassion, care, and help from trained professionals. Tragically, he received none of those things,” James said in the announcement. “The current laws on deadly force have created a system that utterly and abjectly failed Mr. Prude and so many others before him. Serious reform is needed, not only at the Rochester Police Department, but to our criminal justice system as a whole. I will be pursuing a multifaceted approach to address the very issues that have prevented us from holding officers accountable when they improperly use deadly force. I am committed to effecting the change that is so desperately needed, and I will be unshakeable in my efforts to see it through.”
She urged residents and the Prude family, whom she presumes will “rightfully be devastated and disappointed,” must “respect this decision.”
News of Prude’s death surfaced following protests and riots that resulted from the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes toward the end of May 2020. Prude’s death amplified calls to reform law enforcement and restrict funding.
In addition to announcing no charges would be filed against the officers who were at the scene of Prude’s death, she also made five recommendations to “address” the concerns raised from the incident.
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She urged law enforcement officers, emergency communications providers, and emergency medical service personnel to get trained to recognize the symptoms of excited delirium syndrome and how to respond to it.
She also wants to pass “Daniel’s Law,” named after Prude, which would make changes to how officials respond to mental health crises. The other three recommendations are to mandate de-escalation training for all law enforcement, adopt a body camera release policy, and for agencies to explore the use of spit sock alternatives.
A spit sock was placed over Prude head during the incident, and while there’s “no evidence” to prove that it “directly contributed to his death” or “impeded” his airflow, it “clearly added to his stress and agitation,” James’s office said.
