The entire command staff of the Rochester, New York, police department resigned.
The Tuesday announcement came amid backlash over the death of Daniel Prude, a black man, who died after a March 23 confrontation with police.
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In a statement to WRC, Police Chief La’Ron Singletary wrote: “For the past two decades, I have served this community with honor, pride, and the highest integrity. As a man of integrity, I will not sit idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character. The events over the past week are an attempt to destroy my character and integrity. The members of the Rochester Police Department and the Greater Rochester Community know my reputation and know what I stand for. 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.”
Deputy Chief Joseph Morabito announced in a separate statement, “It has been my extreme honor to serve with and lead the most dedicated law enforcement professionals in the country.”
On March 23, Joe Prude, the brother of Daniel Prude, called the police because his brother was having a mental health episode. Video of the incident has since been released by Prude’s family in preparation for a civil lawsuit.
When police found Daniel, he was naked. The officers directed him to get on the ground and put his hands behind his back, and he followed their instructions. At one point, an officer put a spit sock over Prude’s head. A spit sock is used when police want to prevent someone from spitting or biting.
A video appears to show Prude attempting to get up, and then, officers moved in to hold him down. A few minutes later, officers became concerned with Prude’s condition, and he was given chest compressions. When Prude was loaded into the ambulance, he appeared to be nonresponsive. He died a few days later.
Public outrage has ensued over the fact that the public was not notified about the incident sooner. Singletary has denied that there was any type of cover-up at play.
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren has explained that the reason the information was kept private was because of a requirement in the state of New York that the state’s attorney general handle investigations related to police-involved deaths. However, that provision does not specify that localities cannot inform their citizens of said deaths.
