Society's Child
Disturbing new video from Rochester shows man die during arrest - UPDATE: The officers have been suspended
Wed, 02 Sep 2020 19:13 UTC
© New York State Office of The Attorney General
Daniel Prude is seen surrounded by cops with a bag on his head.
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.
Daniel Prude, 41, 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.
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 lies motionless, Officer Mark Vaughn takes his hands off Prude's 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 uncuff 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.
Prude is treated by an EMT.
New York Attorney General Letitia James called the death a "tragedy" in a statement Wednesday — and 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's 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.
Comment: UPDATE: The officers have been suspended. From The Week:
Rochester suspends 7 police officers over asphyxiation death of Daniel Prude
September 4, 3:57 a.m
Mayor Lovely Warren suspended seven police officers Thursday for their involvement in the March death of Daniel Prude, a Black man with mental health problems. The case received little attention until Wednesday, when Prude's family showed footage from police body cameras obtained through public records requests. The video shows police putting a spit bag over Prude's head after he's handcuffed, then holding his face to the ground for two minutes, until he became responsive. Police, resending to a call from Prude's brother, found him running naked in the street.
Prude died after his family took him off life support, seven days after police held him to the ground with the bag over his head. The Monroe County Office of the Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by "complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint," with excited delirium and acute PCP intoxication as contributing factors. Prude's brother compared it to a "lynching."
Warren said she was unaware that police had been involved in Prude's death until Aug. 4, saying Police Chief La'Ron Singletary had portrayed it as a drug overdose. Prude "was failed by the police department, our mental health care system, our society, and he was failed by me," Warren said, also blaming "institutional and structural racism." She said she had suspended the officers with pay because of contract rules and suggested the police union might file suit anyway. "I understand that the union may sue the city for this. They shall feel free to do so."
Protesters gathered for a second night outside the police headquarters in Rochester, and the Rochester police again responded with tear gas and less-lethal pellets. New York Attorney General Leticia James said her office has been investigating Prude's death, and Singletary said his department is undertaking a related criminal and internal investigation of Prude's death.
smertzasmert · 2020-09-04T09:49:00Z
they will be employed by another police agency---"heroes"
BluLiteDancing · 2020-09-04T16:23:27Z
smertzasmert I'm so sick of your fucking comments. Who in the actual fuck do you think you are? It's fucking despicable what these cops did. It's plain to see. You act as though Russia is some kind of moral authority and America is the great Satan.
It's pretty disgusting about what happen to this fella but not quite as bad as the Holodomor or the torture, re education & genocide of 50 million native Russians under your ancestors but pretty bad nonetheless.