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No charges will be laid for the death of New York man Daniel Prude, who was seen in camera footage of the police body pinned to the ground with a pin bag to his head.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday that a grand jury had voted not to indict any of the Rochester police officers involved in the incident.
Prude, 41, was immobilized by officers in March 2020 during a mental health emergency. His death, from complications of suffocation after being removed from the life support system, was declared homicidal.
“Daniel Prude was in the throes of a mental health crisis and what he needed was compassion, care and help from trained professionals,” James said in a statement. “Tragically, he didn’t receive any of these things.”
Body camera images, released by Prude’s family in September, showed Prude appeared to pass out while grounded.
The delay in releasing the video has led James’ office to implement a new policy whereby body camera images will now be released earlier in the investigation process.
James said Tuesday that the current lethal force laws “have created a system that has completely and abjectly failed Mr. Prude and so many before him,” adding that serious reform is needed on “the criminal justice system as a whole “.
“While I know the Prude family, the community of Rochester and communities across the country will rightly be devastated and disappointed, we must respect this decision,” said James.
Following the announcement, hundreds of protesters gathered at the location where Prude met with police last year on Tuesday evening, according to WHAM-TV, a subsidiary of ABC Rochester. They marched shouting: “No justice, no peace”.
In the midst of the protest, the Rochester Police Department called on anyone “wishing to demonstrate peacefully to refrain from participating or being involved with anyone who acts or commits acts of violence.”
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said in a statement the decision was “difficult for many of us to understand.”
“Today’s findings will not reverse the damage done or bring Mr. Prude back to his loved ones.” And we send our deepest prayers and condolences to his children and his family, ”said Warren. “There are no words that can bring comfort to a family who lost their loved one in this tragic way. Our future actions will ensure that Daniel Prude’s death was not in vain.”
Lovely echoed James’ insistence that policies and procedures must change to “correct the inequalities in the system”.
James’ office released a comprehensive report with detailed descriptions of the events believed to have taken place on March 22 and 23 “to ensure maximum transparency in the matter,” according to a statement.
Further answers on what happened behind closed doors with the grand jury will also be forthcoming, as James announced Tuesday evening that a judge had granted a motion to release the proceedings.
“This is a critical step in making the change that is so desperately needed,” she said. said on twitter.
Her office will publish the proceedings “as soon as the judge allows it,” she said.
Lawyers Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, who represent Crude’s family, said in a joint statement that they were “deeply disappointed” that the officers involved were not charged with criminal charges.
“This tragedy could have been avoided if the officers had been properly trained, but also used human decency and common sense to treat Mr. Prude with compassion and provide him with the medical care he deserved,” the lawyers said. “We will continue to advocate for justice in civilian courts, while seeking federal police reform so that these continuing tragedies against black citizens end once and for all.”
Former Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary was sacked in September amid criticism over the handling of Prude’s death. Seven officers involved in the incident were also suspended that month and will remain on leave pending an internal investigation, Rochester Acting Police Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan and the Rochester Police Locust Club said, the police union of the department, in separate statements.
Herriott-Sullivan said she has “a deep and unwavering respect for our justice system and due process for all people,” but the department will continue to update its policies and training, de-escalation, duty to intervene and detention practices in matters of mental hygiene.
“I want the family and our community to know that I have accepted the role of Interim Police Chief to bring about real, systemic change, and that is still my goal,” Herriott-Sullivan said. “I am proud of the progress we are making and of the RPD officers for their openness to learning alternative methods and their collaboration towards the common goal of preventing this from happening again.
Lawyers representing several of the suspended officers said they were undergoing prescribed training.
“We’ve said from the start that our clients haven’t done anything wrong,” James Nobles, who represents one of the officers, told WHAM on Tuesday. “They went through their procedure, they called on their training, they did what they were called to do. And you know 23 citizens of this community heard weeks of evidence and dozens of witnesses and arrived. to the same conclusion. “
“It’s easy to sit down and say that they should have been nicer and they should have said this, they should have done it,” said Matt Rich, who represents four of the officers, at the station. “What they did was, in a crisis under a high stress situation, they fell back on their training, which was ordered by their superiors.”
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