Disturbing new video from Rochester shows man die during arrest

The Bobster

Senior News Editor since 2004
https://nypost.com/2020/09/02/disturbing-video-from-rochester-shows-man-die-during-arrest/

Disturbing new video from Rochester shows man die during arrest
By Craig McCarthy
September 2, 2020 | 7:13pm

A disturbing new video shows Rochester police laughing at a naked and cuffed black man with a mesh bag over his head — before shoving his face into the ground until he stops breathing.

The 41-year-old Daniel Prude was left brain dead and died a week later, reports say.

The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint, excited delirium [and] acute phencyclidine [PCP] intoxication,” according to RochesterFirst.com.

The deadly police encounter unfolded on March 23 when cops were called to the 400 Block of Jefferson Avenue after Prude’s brother, Joe, had called 911 for help just after 3:15 a.m. according to advocacy group Free The People Roc.

On Tuesday, 12 minutes of body camera videos emerged that starts with Prude yelling while cuffed and naked, sitting in the street and screaming nonsense — as the cops crack jokes.

At about three and a half minutes in, one of the officers puts a mesh bag over Prude’s head, the video shows.

Prude then starts yelling incoherently, shouting “Jesus Christ” at one point and “come look at this big d–k” — causing the cops to chuckle.

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Daniel Prude is seen surrounded by cops with a bag on his head.
New York State Office of The Attorney General


The officers eventually move in and shove him into the pavement, according to the video.

The disturbed man continues to scream in the video, but his words are muffled as his face is pressed into the ground.

A few minutes later, as Prude goes silent and lay motionless, Officer Mark Vaughn takes his hands off his head, taps him and says, “you good man?” the video shows.

“Is he puking? Ugh, he’s puking, just straight water. You see all that water that came out of his mouth? My man, you puking?” Officer Troy Talladay appears to say.

“Oh man look at his f—ing…” the cop continues before being cut off by laughter heard in the background of the video.

When EMTs arrive, the cops un-cuff Prude, roll him on his back and try chest compression after realizing he has no pulse.

The EMT tells cops not to worry since PCP causes “excited delirium” and says “I guarantee you that’s why he coded.”

“It’s not your guys’ fault,” she adds.

Neither the county ME nor the Rochester Police Department responded for comment.

The advocacy group, Free The People Roc, identified the officers as Vaughn, Talladay, and Fransisco Santiago.

The group called for the officers to be fired as well as all who were at the scene and didn’t stop the arrest.

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Prude is seen being treated by an EMT.New York State Office of The Attorney General


New York Attorney General Letitia James called the death a “tragedy” in a statement Wednesday — a said she “share[d] the community’s concerns about ensuring a fair and independent investigation into his death and support their right to protest.”

The AG is office is investigating the incident as per Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order 147, which was signed in July 2015.

“We will work tirelessly to provide the transparency and accountability that all our communities deserve,” James said.
 
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/0...ffocating-in-police-custody-in-rochester-n-y/

Disturbing Video Shows Chicago Man, Daniel Prude, Suffocating In Police Custody In Rochester, N.Y.
September 2, 2020 at 6:13 pm

CHICAGO (CBS) — The video is hard to watch:D – a Black man suffocating after being taken into custody by police in Rochester, New York.

The Chicago man, Daniel Prude, died months before George Floyd.

As CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reported Wednesday, Prude was a Chicago resident visiting Rochester when his brother called the police because he was having a mental health issue.

From there, the moments leading up to his eventual death were all captured on police body camera.



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“The man is defenseless, butt-naked on the ground. He was cuffed up already,” said Daniel Prude’s brother, Joe Prude. “I mean, come on. How many more brothers need to die for society to understand that this needs to stop?”
:p

The body cam video shows Rochester officers detaining a naked 41-year-old Daniel Prude in the early hours of March 23. Prude was ordered to lie on the ground.

Police put his hands behind his back and handcuffed him.

The video shows Prude yelling and spitting as he lies completely naked on the snow-covered ground. A white spit hood is placed on his head

Later, an officer appears to be pushing his head into the pavement.

Prude was taken to the hospital, where he died days later. His death was ruled a homicide, caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.”

Prude was from Chicago and his family said he was living in an apartment building in in Auburn Gresham.

Five months after Prude’s death, his family want the officers involved to be fired and charged in.

The New York State Attorney General’s office confirmed to us that they are investigating the case.

“The video is very disturbing,” said Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren. “I’m not going to deny that.”

On Wednesday, Mayor Warren said the investigation is in the state’s hands.
Rochester’s police chief wouldn’t answer any questions about the hood that was used or the appropriateness of the techniques shown in police body cam video.

But Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary repeated several times: “This is not a cover-up. Let me be clear when I say this – there was no cover-up.”

CBS affiliate WROC-TV in Rochester noted that as per an executive order from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in May, state Attorney General Letitia James will investigate all cases in which law enforcement officers are involved in civilians’ deaths.
 
https://nypost.com/2020/09/03/family-of-daniel-prude-calls-on-rochester-cops-to-face-charges/

Protests erupt as Daniel Prude’s fambly calls for Rochester cops to face murder charges
By Yaron Steinbuch
September 3, 2020 | 9:09am | Updated

Protests erupted in Rochester Wednesday following the release of police bodycam video of a black man who reportedly suffocated after cops put a “spit hood” over his head and pushed it into the ground during his arrest — as his family called for the officers involved to be charged with murder, according to reports. :rolleyes:

Nine people were arrested after protesting the death of Daniel Prude, 41, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.

The protests started small at the Monroe County Public Safety Building but grew larger throughout the day before police fired pepper spray and tear gas into a crowd outside police headquarters, according to NPR.

Demonstrators later moved to the site where Prude was arrested, and a large block party gradually formed. Organizers said they planned to remain there until the cops are fired and the city bars police from responding to mental-health calls.

“We want the larger community to know this is not something that happens in other cities, in other states, it happens right here in Rochester,” said Ashley Gantt, an organizer with Free The People Roc, a local Black Lives Matter group, the news outlet reported.

One of the suspects was injured during the arrest and treated at a local hospital, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.

Ryan Howe, 27, was charged with inciting a riot, a misdemeanor. The others face charges of third-degree criminal trespass and resisting arrest.

Meanwhile, Prude’s brother Joe called the officers’ actions “cold-blooded murder” in a news conference held by the family that highlighted the newly released video, Fox News reported. :rolleyes:

“How many more brothers got to die for society to understand that this needs to stop?” Joe said as he called for the three officers involved in the arrest to be fired and charged with murder.

Daniel was left brain-dead and died a week later, on March 30, after police were seen in the footage laughing at him as he lay naked and cuffed on the ground during his arrest.

The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint, excited delirium [and] acute phencyclidine [PCP] intoxication.

The deadly encounter unfolded March 23 when cops were called to Jefferson Avenue after Joe had called 911 for help just after 3:15 a.m., according to Free The People Roc, which identified the officers as Mark Vaughn, Troy Talladay and Fransisco Santiago.

A truck driver reported that Daniel had been shouting and trying to break into a car while claiming he had the coronavirus, according to the New York Times.

“I know that there is a rhetoric that is out there that this is a cover-up,” Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary said in a separate news conference Wednesday, Fox News reported. “This is not a cover-up.”

Joe told The Appeal that his brother’s death was a “cold-blooded murder” and a “lynching.” :rolleyes:

“My brother was a loving individual. :rolleyes: He was a likable guy :rolleyes: and a damn good brother. :rolleyes: He made people laugh. :rolleyes: He brought joy to people. :rolleyes: He didn’t deserve what happened to him,” he told the news outlet.

In a statement Wednesday, nigger New York Attorney General Letitia James said: “The death of Daniel Prude was a tragedy, and I extend my deepest condolences to his family. I share the community’s concerns about ensuring a fair and independent investigation into his death and support their right to protest.

“As with every investigation, we will follow the facts of this case and ensure a complete and thorough examination of all relevant parties. We will work tirelessly to provide the transparency and accountability that all our communities deserve,” James added.

The AG’s office is investigating the incident as per Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order 147, which was signed in July 2015.

On Wednesday, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said the probe by the New York Attorney General’s Office took the matter out of the city’s hands.

“This is not something in our wheelhouse, in our control at this moment in time,” Warren said, according to NPR. “Had it been, this is something we would have talked about months ago.”
 
https://nypost.com/2020/09/04/2-cops-hurt-at-rochester-protest-over-daniel-prudes-death/

2 cops hurt, 8 people arrested at Rochester protest over Daniel Prude’s death

By Yaron Steinbuch
September 4, 2020 | 8:06am

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Demonstrators use umbrellas to block pepper balls and pepper spray during a protest in Rochester yesterday. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images


Two Rochester cops were injured and eight people arrested early Friday after a protest by over 200 demonstrators demanding justice for Daniel Prude — who suffocated while in police custody — descended into chaos, including arson, vandalism and looting, according to a report.

The eight protesters — men and women ranging in age from 24 to 60 — were charged with disorderly conduct, a violation, police Capt. Michael Callari said, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.

Two of them also were charged with resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, and one was charged with harassment, he added.

The large crowd descended on the Public Safety Building, where some of the people pelted police officers with rocks and bottles, the news outlet reported. The injured cops were treated at a local hospital and released.

The mayhem unfolded after Mayor Lovely Warren said late Thursday that she was suspending all seven cops involved in the Prude’s case, adding she did so “against the advice of counsel.”

Prude, 41, was seen on police bodycam video naked and in distress on March 23 when he was confronted by police.

The officers — who are heard laughing through parts of the video — handcuff Prude and put a spit mask over his head, with one cop holding his head down until he stops moving. He was declared brain dead and died one week later.

During the protests Thursday night into Friday morning, Rochester and state police in riot gear fired pepper balls as they pushed back demonstrators in shorts, jeans and T-shirts — some shielding themselves with umbrellas.

The police action drew criticism from at least one City Council member as “unnecessarily aggressive,” according to the Democrat and Chronicle.

“It’s clear that City Council’s request for a respectful, de-escalated interaction with protesters went unheeded,” Mitch Gruber said in a text message to a reporter.

“RPD initiated unnecessarily aggressive behavior toward peaceful protesters,” he added. “By morning I expect to hear from the mayor and chief as to why our requests weren’t met and how they will appropriately address continued, sustained peaceful protest.”

The City Council asked Warren in a letter Thursday that police “meet these protests with respect and to de-escalate tension. We do not need any militaristic outfitting and use of pepper balls at this incredibly sensitive time for our community.”

In front of the barricaded Police Department on Thursday night, the protesters chanted “Black Lives Matter” and “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now.”

Shortly before 10:30 p.m., police began firing volleys of pepper balls as the crowds retreated south toward Corn Hill.

“You aren’t no one without a badge!” some chanted a little after 11:30 p.m., shortly before police began advancing with shields in an effort to clear the crowd.

But the protesters resisted the challenge by locking arms as drum beats thumped loudly. “Say his name!” they chanted. “Daniel Prude!”

Meanwhile, several groups under the Black Lives Matter movement called for the resignation of both Warren and Police Chief La’Ron Singletary, saying they can no longer put their trust in the two leaders, WHEC reported.
 
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/loc...f-black-man-put-in-spit-hood-by-cops/2601989/

Car Drives Through Crowd in NYC Amid Protests Over Death of Black Man Cops Put in ‘Spit Hood'

Daniel Prude, 41, died March 30 after he was taken off life support, seven days after the encounter with police in Rochester; seven officers involved in that case have now been suspended
9/4/2020

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The NYPD says it is trying to find a car that drove through a group of protesters in Times Square amid demonstrations over the death of a man who suffocated after police in Rochester put a “spit hood” over his head earlier this year.


Video posted on social media shows the black Taurus sedan careening down West 46th Street, its horn blaring, as demonstrators scrambled out of the way. No one appeared to be seriously injured.:mad:

At one point, social media users who saw the video speculated about whether the vehicle was an unmarked police car because it had a push bar, also commonly known as a bullbar or push bumper, that's found on NYPD vehicles and other SUVs. The NYPD tweeted clearly, "This auto is NOT an NYPD vehicle," and said no complaints had been filed in the incident. The investigation is ongoing.
 
https://13wham.com/news/local/police-fire-pepper-balls-at-protesters-on-court-street

Protesters arrested and Rochester Police injured at Daniel Prude protest

Friday, September 4th 2020

Rochester N.Y. (WHAM) - Police fired pepper balls and tear gas at protesters Friday night after police say they refused to leave and acted aggressively.:D

Eleven individuals were arrested and three law enforcement officers were hospitalized at the Daniel Prude protest.

Police declared the protest an “unlawful assembly" following a peaceful gathering at Martin Luther King Jr. Park earlier in the evening.

The Rochester Police Department says it monitored crowds upwards of 2000 people walking throughout the city's downtown area.

At approximately 10:45 p.m., officers were faced with members of the crowd who began throwing rocks, bottles, and other forms of debris, according to police.

Officers say they were forced to begin dispersing the crowd toward South Avenue. Police used pepper balls and pepper spray in order to move the crowds.

At midnight officers say they encountered a large crowd at the intersection of Court Street and South Clinton Avenue who again began throwing rocks, bottles, and other debris.

Small fires were also set by members of the crowd. Police say a group of agitators began hurling commercial grade fireworks directly at officers standing on the opposite side of the intersection.


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Officers then deployed tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

Of the 11 people arrested, four individuals were remanded to the Monroe County Jail and seven were issued appearance tickets.

MORE: Two RPD officers injured, 8 people arrested in Daniel Prude protests on Thursday

Three officers received injuries after objects were thrown at them. All 3 officers were hospitalized and later released, according to police.

Two of the three officers received cuts, severe swelling, and contusions to their hands and legs. One of the officers received burns to their neck


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXJH-PjsybE&feature=youtu.be

Black Lives Matter terorize white people in restaurants.Flipped tables, broke glasses.Rochester NY

 
https://nypost.com/2020/09/05/rochester-rocked-by-another-night-of-daniel-prude-protests/

Rochester rocked by another night of Daniel Prude protests, counter-protests
By Melanie Gray
September 5, 2020 | 8:44am | Updated

Violence erupted on the third night of protests in Rochester against the death of Daniel Prude, with anti-police demonstrators terrorizing diners inside a restaurant and setting off what looked like fireworks near officers.

Hours later, two cars with counter-protests drove through the crowd.

Video and photos posted on social media show a crowd of nearly 1,000 descending on a restaurant downtown, where Prude suffocated to death while in police custody.

Diners were inside when protesters started smashing their glasses and breaking their plates, the Daily Mail reported. One woman tried to run away, but a piece of her clothing caught on the table.

“No need to run,” a voice told her. “Nobody is hurting you. Nobody’s going to touch you … we’re shutting the party down.”

The protesters yell: “‘If you don’t give us our s–t, we shut s–t down.”

Hours later, about 1 a.m. Saturday, a reporter for 13WHAM ABC in Buffalo posted photos on Twitter that showed cars headed into the crowd.

“Two cars just Pepper sprayed and hit demonstrators with their vehicles :D,” reporter Dan Schrack tweeted.
 
https://nypost.com/2020/09/06/rochester-busing-in-town-elders-to-stand-between-cops-protesters/

Rochester busing in town ‘elders’ to stand between cops, protesters
By Kate Sheehy
September 6, 2020 | 5:35pm

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Rochester Police use pepper spray on protesters
Getty Images


The city of Rochester is busing in town “elders’’ to act as a “buffer’’ between protesters and cops Sunday night after a large violent clash there hours earlier over the police death of Daniel Prude, officials said.

Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary said at a press conference with the city’s mayor Sunday that local authorities have “credible information one of the areas [marchers] want to target is a symbolic feature’’ — the town’s public-safety building, which houses its police department.

Mayor Lovely Warren said she and local pastor Myra Brown came up with a plan to have about 50 “elders’’ form a line of peaceful defense between the protesters and cops to thwart any potential attack on the building or other violence. :rolleyes:

“[We] are calling on the elders of this city and our community to meet at [Brown’s] church’’ at 6:30 p.m., Warren said, adding that the local government would help out by transporting community leaders around, according to footage of the presser by local WHEC-TV.

“They will stand as the buffer between our protesters and our police department,’’ she said of the “elders.”

Three cops were injured and nine people arrested overnight during what amounted to the city’s biggest protest so far involving Prude’s death. Cops fired tear gas and pepper balls into the crowd of at least 1,500, while they were battered by bottles and commercial-grade fireworks by marchers who refused to disperse.

Prude, a 41-year-old black man, died in March after an encounter with Rochester cops in which they put a mesh “spit hood” over his head and shoved his face to the ground till he stopped breathing while he suffered a mental breakdown on the street.

The Rev. Brown, who was at Sunday’s press conference, said she has been marching with protesters in recent days over Prude’s death and wants to help improve the safety of all.

“We elders have volunteered to put our bodies on the line to make sure that that happens because this community needs to unrestrictedly be able to walk these streets, be able to make the demands that they want to make and to be able to go home without pepper spray or pepper balls in their eyes,’’ the pastor said.

Both the mayor and police chief added that they have no plans to resign, amid growing calls for them to do so.
 
https://nypost.com/2020/09/08/daniel-prudes-brother-says-rochester-cops-assassinated-him/

Daniel Prude’s brother says ‘cold-blooded’ Rochester cops ‘assassinated’ him
By Lia Eustachewich
September 8, 2020 | 8:03am

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Joe Prude, the brother of Daniel Prude, addresses a crowd of demonstrators gathering in front of the Public Safety Building


The brother of Daniel Prude ripped Rochester police as “some cold-blooded damn killers” who “assassinated” the father of five back in March.

Joe Prude made the impassioned speech Monday night to hundreds of protesters who gathered for the sixth straight night in the upstate New York city.

“They didn’t want that tape to come out,” Joe said, referring to the newly released police body camera footage showing Daniel suffocating while in custody.

“They did not want that visual of my brother being assassinated by some cold-blooded damn killers.”

Joe vowed to continuing fighting in name of his brother, who was naked and placed in a “spit hood” by cops who then pushed his head to the ground on March 23. He died a week later after he was taken off of life support.

“If you look deep down inside your heart, you understand that all we was really asking for is justice,” Joe told the crowd. “That’s all I want for my brother. Nothing else but justice.”

Joe then thanked the crowd for “standing up for what’s right,” telling them, “Let’s love each other and let’s continue to fight the good fight.”

The deadly encounter unfolded after Joe called 911 around 3:15 a.m. seeking help for Daniel, 41, who was acting erratically. Twelve minutes of bodycam footage was released last week, showing Prude yelling while handcuffed and naked, as cops laugh.

A mesh hood was then placed over his head to stop him from spitting, with the recording showing an officer pressing Daniel’s head into the pavement for about two minutes until he stopped breathing.

The medical examiner ruled Daniel’s death a homicide, caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint, excited delirium [and] acute phencyclidine [PCP] intoxication.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James has convened a grand jury to investigate Daniel’s death.

Protesters have taken to the streets demanding police reform and more accountability, including on Monday night, when they had a tense standoff with cops for nearly three hours, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported.

The protests ended around 1 a.m., police said.
 
https://nypost.com/2020/09/08/rochester-pds-entire-command-staff-retires-amid-protests-mayor/

Rochester PD’s ‘entire command staff’ retires amid Daniel Prude protests
By Tamar Lapin
September 8, 2020 | 3:59pm | Updated

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Rochester Police Chief La'Ron Singletary
Reuters


The Rochester Police Department’s “entire command staff” announced their retirement on Tuesday, the mayor there said, amid raging protests over the death of Daniel Prude, the black man who was killed while being subdued by city cops while he suffered an apparent breakdown.

Chief La’Ron Singletary, a 20-year veteran of the force, and Deputy Chief Joseph Morabito, who served the department for 34 years, released statements moments before a scheduled briefing with Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren and the City Council about last night’s demonstrations.

During the meeting, Warren told council members that “the entire Rochester Police Department’s command staff has announced their retirement,” adding that Deputy Chief Mark Simmons was also stepping down.

“There may be a number of others who will decide to leave as well and retire,” Warren warned.

Rochester native Singletary, 40, had faced calls for resignation from Black Lives Matter activists over his handling of the investigation into Prude’s March death — though he’d said as recently as Sunday that he wouldn’t step down.

The mayor stressed that Singletary, who was named chief in April 2019, hadn’t been asked to hand in his resignation, saying “I do believe he is doing his best.”

“The chief has felt that his career and integrity has been challenged,” Warren said. “He has dedicated 20 years to this city and feels that the events that have happened.. could have been handled differently. But he didn’t in any way try to cover this up.”

In a press release announcing his retirement, Singletary blasted what he called the “mischaracterization and the politicization of the actions that I took after being informed of Mr. Prude’s death.”

“As a man of integrity, I will not sit idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character,” the statement said. “The events over the past week are an attempt to destroy my character and integrity.”

He added: “The members of the Rochester Police Department and the Greater Rochester Community know my reputation and know what I stand for.”

Morabito, who oversees the department’s operations bureau, didn’t state a reason, saying in a statement that serving on the force was “one of the proudest achievements of my lifetime.”

“I have often reflected on my time growing up in this City, and the many friends and neighbors who helped guide me and encouraged my decision to become an officer,” Morabito said. “I have never regretted that decision, and the people who I have had the privilege of assisting throughout my service.”

No successors were immediately named. The mayor said she didn’t yet have an exact date for the retirements, as she was informed about the leadership shakeup just moments before the council briefing.
 
https://nypost.com/2020/09/08/angry...ith-knife-chases-off-tv-reporter-video-shows/

Angry mob of Rochester protesters chases off TV reporter, dramatic video shows
By Joshua Rhett Miller
September 8, 2020 | 1:24pm | Updated

A news reporter and a security guard in Rochester were chased away by an angry mob of Daniel Prude protesters, including one who appeared to be wielding a knife, dramatic video shows.

The footage from Sunday’s protests in Rochester shows WHEC reporter Charles Molineaux and a security guard being told to get away by demonstrators marching toward the city’s Public Safety Building.

Protests erupted in the upstate New York city last week following the release of police bodycam footage from March showing cops pressing Prude’s face into the ground until he stopped breathing. Prude, who was black, later died.

“Go home, go home, go home!” the crowd chanted as Molineaux and the guard were confronted in a nearby parking lot, video shows. One protester is seen waving a Black Lives Matter flag.

“Just leave, go that way!” one man tells them. “Go out the parking lot!”

“Get the f–k up out of here!” another man yells.

Molineaux then pulls out his cellphone and snaps a photo, which he later posted on Twitter, before the guard motions that the pair need to leave the area immediately.

They then start walking briskly away from the protesters before two men, including one who appears to be armed with a knife, make threatening motions toward them, the clip shows.

The pair then start running away as protesters chase them through the parking lot while someone yells, “Let them go.”

One demonstrator appeared to get within several feet of Molineaux and the security guard — but neither was hurt during the heated confrontation, WHEC reports.

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A News10NBC reporter and a security guard are chased away by a protester with a knife.
Anadolu Agency via Reuters


“Yo, I’m about to kill ‘em, brah,” one man says on the footage as Molineaux and the guard run off.

The frightening encounter occurred after a few people asked Molineaux what he was doing in the parking lot.

“First I heard from anybody asking who we were, I said we were local TV news,” Molineaux told WHEC.

“I didn’t say ‘Channel 10’ because some of the organizers of the protests have been angry at Channel 10 for some reason. I didn’t want to go there right away. And I also wasn’t wearing my Channel 10 insignia for that reason.”
BLM protest in Rochester, New York

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Hundreds of demonstrators gather in front of the City Public Safety Building over Daniel Prude's death in Rochester, New York.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images


Molineaux did eventually identify himself as a WHEC reporter, but his security guard told him they needed to go as more people approached them.

The guard at one point used pepper spray during the confrontation, although Molineaux said he didn’t see it being used. He also said he did not notice the man who appeared to swing a knife at him. :rolleyes:

“There were so many people swinging at us and throwing things, and somebody was swinging a flag at us, but a knife?” Molineaux told the station. “First I saw of a knife was in an email this afternoon. No, we never saw a knife. I never saw a knife.” :rolleyes:

Molineaux and his security guard later returned to the area, where they met up with a photographer, before Molineaux reported on the protest during the station’s 11 p.m. newscast, WHEC reports.

Rochester police, meanwhile, said no arrests were made during Sunday’s protest, which drew roughly 1,000 demonstrators demanding police accountability in Prude’s death.

Joe Prude, Prude’s brother who called 911 for help with his erratic behavior, blasted Rochester police at protests Monday night — calling them “cold-blooded damn killers” who assassinated the 41-year-old father of five.

Bodycam footage released last week shows Daniel Prude yelling while handcuffed and naked, as cops put a hood over his head to stop him from spitting before holding him down for about two minutes until he stops breathing.

A medical examiner has ruled Prude’s death a homicide caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint, excited delirium [and] acute phencyclidine [PCP] intoxication.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Saturday she would form a grand jury as part of an “exhaustive investigation” into Prude’s death.
 
https://nypost.com/2020/09/09/rochester-officer-hospitalized-as-daniel-prude-protests-escalate/

Rochester officer hospitalized as violence escalates at Daniel Prude protest
By Lee Brown
September 9, 2020 | 10:29am

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Fat crazy bitch demonstrators gather in front of the public safety building in protest of the police killing of Daniel Prude
Joshua Rashaad McFadden/Getty Im


A Rochester cop was hospitalized Tuesday night as officers also had bricks thrown at them — as the force released images of suspected “anarchists” they say are hellbent on destroying the upstate city.

The latest violence came on the seventh night of protests following Daniel Prude’s caught-on-camera fatal arrest, and just hours after Rochester Police Department’s “entire command staff” announced their retirement.

Some protesters scrawled “MURDERERS” on the street outside the Public Safety Building, while a large ‘RESIGN” message reflected ongoing calls to oust Mayor Lovely Warren amid accusations of a coverup over 41-year-old Prude’s death in March, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.

While Tuesday’s rally ended without the previous clashes that saw cops using pepper balls and tear gas, it did include militants throwing rocks at cops, the force tweeted late Tuesday.

An unidentified officer was also hospitalized as he arrested a man they said was “pointing a laser in the eyes of 7 uniformed Police Officers in an attempt to damage their eyes.”

The suspect fled when officers tried to arrest him for ignoring repeated calls to stop — and assaulted an officer who chased him.

The officer was taken to URMC hospital with a cut eye that was also being treated for a “potential additional injury,” cops said.

Kyle Bradley Davis, a 32-year-old Rochester native, was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer and attempted assault on one, both felonies, and resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, police said.

Police also released a series of videos and stills of suspects wanted for violence at earlier protests — including some throwing fireworks, setting fires and flinging Molotov cocktails at cops.

“While most citizens protest peacefully, this is what @RochesterNYPD is up against every night,” the force’s patrol section tweeted alongside a photo of a collection of protective clothing and spikes as homemade weapons.

“Anarchists from @Rochester and from out of town who are only here to destroy our community – armed with bullet proof vests, weapons, fireworks, & incendiary devices,” it added, with the hashtag #SomeRuinItForAll.

“This is not how to peacefully protest in any community.”
 
https://nypost.com/2020/09/13/rochester-pd-use-sound-cannon-to-end-4-hour-standoff-with-protesters/

Rochester police use sound cannon to end hours-long standoff with protesters
By Lee Brown
September 13, 2020 | 5:18pm

USATSI_14924367.jpg

Rochester Police officers facing off with protesters last night.
Shawn Dowd/Democrat and Chronicle


Rochester police used a sound cannon and fired rubber bullets to end a four-hour standoff with protesters early Sunday — after Daniel Prude’s brother had angrily addressed officers in an expletive-laden tirade.

The latest night of unrest sparked by 41-year-old Prude’s fatal arrest started with hundreds in a rally at 9:30 p.m. Saturday — with agitators “wearing helmets, makeshift armor and carrying shields” infiltrating otherwise peaceful protesters :rolleyes:, police said.

Before things turned violent, Prude’s brother, Joe Prude, took a microphone to shout at officers forming a line blocking the street, according to video shared by the Democrat and Chronicle.

“Half you motherf—ers don’t even stay in the city. We live here every god motherf—ing day,” Prude yelled at the officers in the clip.

“We’re more worried about what the f–k y’all will do to us than we’re worried about what the f–k we’ll do to each other,” he said to cheers from protesters.

Rochester police said “agitators” then pushed passed the line of community elders who have been brought in to try to “keep the protest peaceful.”

“Agitators moved to within 5-10 feet of the officers, at which time it became an officer safety issue,” the force said in a release, claiming “officers began to take bottles, rocks, and eggs from the crowd.”

Police fired back with pepper balls, and the Democrat and Chronicle reported that officers also used pepper spray.

USATSI_14924382.jpg

Rochester police officers fire pepper spray at protesters last night.
Shawn Dowd/Democrat and Chronicle


An armored BearCat was also brought in, as well as a Long Range Acoustic Device — known as a sound cannon — playing deafening squeals to drown out protesters and control the crowd, the local paper noted.

At least one officer was seen getting knocked to the ground, the paper said, with the force saying they “continued to have bottles and rocks thrown at them.”

The protesters finally left just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday, police said — just over four hours after the standoff had started.

Three Rochester locals were arrested, including a 50-year-old man, Nicholas Wilt, busted on charges of unlawful assembly and resisting arrest, the force said.

Ashley Moore, 34, was arrested for second-degree harassment, and Richard Yaniak, 37, for unlawful assembly and inciting riot, the force said, with no further details on the allegations against them.

The upstate city has seen protests every night since Sept. 2, when bodycam video was released showing officers putting a “spit hood” over Prude’s head and shoving his face to the ground till he stopped breathing while he suffered a mental breakdown on the street in March.
 
https://nypost.com/2020/09/24/rochester-pd-spent-1-4m-in-ot-on-daniel-prude-blm-protests/

Rochester PD spent $1.4M in OT so far on Daniel Prude, BLM protests
By Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
September 24, 2020 | 8:34pm

Rochester police spent more than $1.4 million on overtime in under three weeks responding to Black Lives Matter demonstrations stemming from the police-custody death of Daniel Prude, according to a report.

The bulk of the OT for cops in the upstate city came during the first two weeks of this month after the protests broke out, with more than $1 million in extra pay over that period for nearly 2,500 overtime shifts totaling 15,500 hours, WROC-TV reported.

“The fact that we had to have the police there the entire time was a need,” Rochester City Councilman Jose Peo told the station. “We needed to make sure that what happened before with the rioting and the looting when it’s happened in other cities with these types of protests when buildings are being burned down, did not happen in Rochester.”

According to the department’s website, Rochester PD has 850 sworn and civilian employees.

The data, from a report submitted to the city council by police in the upstate city on Monday, stunned some in the community.

Rochester police also fired approximately 6,300 rounds of pepper balls to disperse protesters in just the first three days of demonstrations, a number that shocked some in the community, WROC said.

“That’s excessive,” Abdul Hai, an activist with the Community Justice Initiative told the station. “That’s just showing the militarization of the police force when they were shooting the pepper balls those people didn’t deserve.”

Prude, 41, died after a confrontation with several city cops on March 23.

Video from the encounter shows a mentally disturbed Prude walking down a Rochester street naked. Prude is seen ranting but is handcuffed and held face-down on the ground after police — who can be heard laughing — put a spit mask on him.

He eventually stops moving and lapses into unconsciousness before he was taken to a local hospital and declared brain dead. He died one week later.

The incident remained under wraps until Sept. 4, when the footage went public and sparked a new round of outrage from Black Lives Matters protesters, who have been marching against racial inequality and police brutality since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.
 
https://nypost.com/2021/02/23/rochester-cops-wont-face-charges-in-death-of-daniel-prude/

Rochester cops won’t face charges in death of Daniel Prude: NY AG
By Craig McCarthy
February 23, 2021 | 5:02pm | Updated

A grand jury voted not to indict the Rochester police officers who were involved in the suffocation death of Daniel Prude, the New York Attorney General said Tuesday.

“When I was here in September, I made a commitment to the Prude Family and the Rochester community, I would do everything in my power to ensure justice was served in the death of Daniel Prude,” Attorney General Letitia James said. :mad:

“My office presented an extensive case and we saw a different outcome than the one the grand jury handed us today.”

“The criminal justice system has frustrated efforts to hold law enforcement officers accountable,” James said, adding “we have to respect the decision [of the grand jury.”

James called for police policy to be amended in New York so “officers only use lethal force as a last resort” and for a state review of the use of spit hoods.

“The criminal justice system is badly in need of reform. It was built to protect and shield officers from wrongdoing and accountability,” she said.

The 41-year-old Prude was left brain-dead after being detained during a mental-health episode March 23, and died a week later.

Prude was placed in a “spit hood” and pushed to the ground while naked.
Letitia James at the National Action Network in Harlem.

The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide that was caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint, excited delirium [and] acute phencyclidine [PCP] intoxication.”

But for months afterwards, the details of his death were unclear until the family got their hands on body-camera footage from the incident.

The videos, which was reminiscent of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, showed seven officers laughing at the naked man while he sat cuffed during the episode.

At one point, the officers forcefully pressed Prude’s face into the pavement, muffling his words.

A day after the video was made public in early September, the seven cops involved were suspended without pay.

A week later, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren fired Police Chief La’Ron Singletary before he could resign over the department’s handling.

“It shows that 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,” Warren said at the time.

Reports emerged after the chief’s firing that police commanders had tried to get the city to delay releasing the footage from the deadly encounter — fearing a backlash from the public following the summer demonstrations over the death of Floyd.

The videos sparked two weeks of protests and s federal lawsuit over the alleged cover-up.

Singletary later alleged in a notice of claim the mayor had asked him to downplay her role in the fallout from Prude’s death.

“Mayor Warren asked me instead, to provide false information and to omit material information to support the Mayor’s public narrative concerning her knowledge of the events in the matter of Daniel Prude,” he added.
 
https://nypost.com/2021/02/24/protesters-march-after-cops-not-indicted-in-daniel-prudes-death/

Protesters march after decision to not charge Rochester cops in Daniel Prude’s death
By Joshua Rhett Miller
February 24, 2021 | 9:53am | Updated

Protesters in upstate New York descended onto Rochester streets late Tuesday to voice their anger over a grand jury’s decision not to indict the Rochester cops involved in Daniel Prude’s death – with one claiming the “system did exactly what it was meant to do.”

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the street where Prude, 41, died in March several days following his encounter with police during a mental health episode, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

Activist Stanley Martin, a City Council candidate, was among the first to address those gathered in downtown Rochester and at the Public Safety Building — the site of two weeks of demonstrations after the release of video in early September that showed seven cops laughing at a naked Prude as he sat handcuffed.

“White supremacy protests white supremacists,” Martin said. “[The system] is not meant to protect us. The system did exactly what it was meant to do.”

rochester-protest-daniel-prude-2.jpg

People march in protest after the New York grand jury voted not to indict police officers in Daniel Prude’s death in Rochester, New York.
Lindsay DeDario/REUTERS


Martin continued: “We keep marching; we keep fighting; we keep reimaging what the future looks like. The future does not include RPD and I know that for a fact.”
Video showed seven cops laughing at Daniel Prude as he sat handcuffed and naked mental health episode.Video showed seven cops laughing at Daniel Prude as he sat handcuffed and naked mental health episode.Roth & Roth LLP via AP

More than 100 protesters had huddled at the intersection where Prude encountered police by 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the report. The group then marched to the Public Safety Building and chanted at the Civic Center Plaza, where Monroe County Sheriff Office deputies set up barricades that some people had later breached.

“You are unlawfully assembled and breaching police barricades on Exchange Blvd.,” deputies tweeted shortly after 11 p.m. “Please DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY or face arrest. Obey officer commands. We are being patient. Please DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY.”

No arrests or clashes with officers were reported, according to the Democrat and Chronicle, but demonstrators had reportedly vowed to return.

Attorneys for the seven cops suspended over Prude’s death have said the officers were following their training and insist Prude’s use of PCP was the “root cause” of his death, which was ruled a homicide. During his encounter with cops, the man was placed in a “spit hood” before being shoved into the pavement until he stopped breathing.

The officers will remain on leave pending the outcome of an internal probe, Rochester’s police chief, Cynthia Herriot-Sullivan, has said.

Some activists at Tuesday’s protest, meanwhile, said the fight for justice in Prude’s death is far from finished. The US Justice Department is planning to review the findings of Attorney General Letitia James, whose office took over the investigation, according to a joint statement from its Civil Rights Division, the FBI and the US Attorney for the Western District of New York.
Disturbing video shows the fatal arrest of Daniel Prude

“I don’t think it’s over,” Rochester activist Mike Johnson said. “I don’t think this grand jury decision is the last say in seeking justice for this issue.”
 
https://nypost.com/2021/02/24/several-arrested-during-daniel-prude-protest-in-nyc/

Several arrested during Daniel Prude protest in NYC
By Elizabeth Rosner
February 24, 2021 | 11:10pm | Updated

Several azzholes were arrested Wednesday night during a protest in Brooklyn in the wake of the decision to not charge upstate New York cops in the death of Daniel Prude, according to police and witnesses.

Dozens of protesters marched through McCarren Park in Williamsburg around 7 p.m., prompting a large police response with about 300 cops.

Witnesses told The Post at least nine people were arrested. Police confirmed some arrests were made.

Several protesters began attacking pedestrians and spray-painting a cab on South 4th Street and Driggs Avenue near the Williamsburg Bridge, the witnesses recalled.

Videos on Citizen App shows large crowds at the scene, and a police chopper can be heard hovering over the area.

022421ARREST1WM.jpg

Several arrests were made during a protest in Brooklyn after the decision to not charge Rochester cops in the death of Daniel Prude.
William Miller


The protest came a day after a grand jury voted not to indict the Rochester police officers who were involved in the death of Daniel Prude, a black man who was suffocated while he was naked and having a mental breakdown on March 23.

He was left brain dead and died a week later.
 
https://nypost.com/2021/03/23/protesters-take-to-rochester-streets-on-daniel-prude-anniversary/

Protesters shut down Rochester Wegman’s on anniversary of Daniel Prude’s arrest
By Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
March 23, 2021 | 2:54pm | Updated

An angry mob of protesters took to the streets of Rochester Tuesday to mark the one-year anniversary of Daniel Prude’s arrest and eventual death — shutting down a Wegman’s supermarket and trapping customers and employees inside.

Chanting “No justice, no peace” and “Black lives matter,” about 200 people marched through the upstate New York city, making their way down Main Street to Wegman’s, forcing store officials to padlock the store at 11 a.m.

“We have a long walk today,” the demonstrators said, WHAM-TV reporter Michael Schwartz said on Twitter. “We’re shutting s&*! down.”

Footage posted on Twitter by WXXI-TV producer Max Schulte shows the marchers converging on the store.

As many as 100 people were briefly trapped inside, Daily Wire reported Tuesday.

The customers were cleared out shortly after noon, WHAM reported.

rochester-wegmans-anniversary-daniel-prude-01.jpg

A makesh it memorial in Rochester, New York, near the site where Daniel Prude was restrained by police.
AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, File


“We join the Prude family in calling for a day of action and remembrance on the one-year anniversary of Daniel Prude’s death by the RPD,” protest organizers Free the People ROC said in a Facebook post.

“Call out of work, walk out of class, and join us in the streets to demand justice for Daniel Prude!” the post said.
see also

Disturbing new video from Rochester shows man die during arrest

Prude, 41, was left brain-dead after being handcuffed and held to the ground by Rochester police officers on March 23, 2020.

Viral video of the encounter shows Prude, who is naked and in the midst of the mental health crisis, held down on the street after police put a spit mask over his head.

He was pronounced dead one week later, with the city medical examiner declaring his death a homicide.

Last month, hundreds of protesters also took to the streets after a grand jury declined to indict the officers involved in Prude’s arrest and death.
 

Rochester cop faces departmental charges in Daniel Prude death​



By
Jesse O’Neill


September 23, 2021 9:38pm
Updated

























A Rochester cop was served with “departmental charges” in connection with the asphyxiation death of Daniel Prude, as internal investigators found that no additional action was needed against six other suspended officers involved in the March 2020 incident.
Officer Mark Vaughn, who was seen on body cam footage pushing Prude’s face against the pavement for more than two minutes, faced potential discipline for his role in the death, according to a statement from police, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported.
The statement reportedly did not reveal the nature of the charges against Vaughn, or indicate if he still served as an officer in the department.
“The Department fully supports Officer Vaughn’s right to due process and to defend himself against the charges, of which no pre-determined outcome has been put in place,” the department reportedly wrote. “A formal hearing will be scheduled in the future.”
The move came on the final day disciplinary action could be taken under the police union contract, 18 months after Prude’s death, the paper said.
In this March 23, 2020 image made from police body camera video, provided by Roth and Roth LLP, a Rochester police officer puts a hood over the head of Daniel Prude in Rochester, N.Y.Rochester Officer Mark Vaughn is the only cop to internal discipline in the aftermath of Daniel Prude’s death. Rochester Police via Roth and Roth LLP via AP, File
Rochester Police transferred The Post to a disabled extension when reached for confirmation Thursday night.
Prude, 41, was naked when he was restrained and placed in a spit hood by officers during a mental-health crisis. Vaughn was seen on body camera pushing Prude’s head into the pavement for 2 minutes, 15 seconds as he assumed a pushup position.
Daniel PrudeRochester officer Mark Vaughn pushed Daniel Prude’s head on the ground for more than 2 minutes. Courtesy Roth and Roth LLP via AP
Prude, who had smoked PCP, eventually stopped breathing, and medical officials ruled his death was a homicide at the hands of officers.
Seven cops on the scene that were caught on camera laughing at the naked man during the incident were suspended, and Chief Le’Ron Singletary was fired over his department’s handling of the situation.
A grand jury declined to press criminal charges against any of the officers involved in February, to the chagrin of Attorney General Letita James.
City lawyers have defended Vaughn’s restraint technique in a lawsuit filed by Prude’s family, saying cops were trained “to hold Mr. Prude’s head to the ground in order to stop Mr. Prude’s attempts to stand up.”
The release of body cam footage sparked weeks of violent confrontations between protestors and cops last year, as demonstrators around the country took to the streets to rebuke police violence against persons of color.
 
These anti-white scum have to have sacrifices for their gods.
?stain should've been expunged sooner. Would've saved society money and time wasted on its useless ass.
 
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