The town hall did not specify how many officers were affected by this suspension, which will last at least until the conclusion of the internal investigation conducted by the Rochester police.
At least seven police officers were present at the scene on Friday, according to images released on Sunday.
Rochester Deputy Police Chief Andre Anderson said the little girl was suffering from a delusional episode, in which she threatened to kill her mother and commit suicide.
In the images, the police try to reason with the child, before handcuffing him and seating him in one of their vehicles.
The child shouts and revolts, after which an officer sprinkles him with pepper spray, further accentuating his nervousness.
Andre Anderson said the police were not looking to arrest the little girl, but to take her to the hospital, where she was eventually transported, before being released a few hours later.
The footage caused a stir far beyond Rochester and sparked many reactions.
On Monday, despite the snow and the temperature well below zero, dozens of people gathered in Rochester to protest the new incident.
“Rochester must face a real problem of accountability of its police,” said New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday in a statement.
Rochester police had, in fact, experienced another scandal in September, with the revelation of the arrest of an African-American, Daniel Prude, suffocated by police officers before dying later.
The forensic institute had concluded, after autopsy, that the death of Daniel Prude was a homicide, linked to “asphyxiation resulting from a physical constraint”.
The scandal had sparked protests in Rochester and New York calling for reforms in Rochester’s police force and prompted its leader, La’Ron Singletary, an African-American, to quit his post in September.
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