Anger was mounting Thursday after the publication of a video showing how Daniel Prude, an African-American man, died of suffocation by police officers during his arraignment in Rochester, New York, a further example of police abuse at heart of a protest movement since May.
In mid-afternoon, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, who is African-American, announced the suspension of police officers present during the arrest, which dates back to March 23.
The case has resurfaced, as the family just obtained a copy of the video shot by the mini-cameras that the police were wearing that day. They intervened after an emergency call from the brother of Daniel Prude, seized by a crisis caused by psychological disorders.
Once there, a police officer finds Daniel Prude lying on the ground in the street, naked, and handcuffed, according to images released Wednesday. As the 41-year-old makes incoherent comments, an officer places a canvas bag over his head.
photo-source position-absolute"> AFP
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This canvas hood aims to prevent one of the officers from receiving saliva, as the man spits and claims to have the coronavirus, according to one of the police officers.
An agent then places both hands on the hood and asks him to calm down. Daniel Prude is visibly struggling to breathe and begs for this canvas bag to be removed, before losing consciousness. Officers laugh and joke several times during the arrest.
The man fell into a coma and died a week later after being hospitalized. Father of five children and living in Chicago, Daniel Prude was in Rochester to visit his brother.
The forensic institute concluded, after autopsy, that the death was a homicide, linked to “asphyxiation following physical constraint”.
“When I saw the video, I was very shocked,” the mayor of Rochester commented on Wednesday.
photo-source position-absolute"> AFP
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The elected official indicated that the file had been entrusted to the services of the attorney of the State of New York as of the hours following the arrest, as provided for by local law, to avoid any conflict of interest.
“Since then, we have been waiting for (they) to decide on the way forward,” she explained. “Unfortunately, it took a long time.”
New York State Attorney Letitia James confirmed the existence of an investigation, without specifying the status of her investigations.
Returning the ball, she called on the city of Rochester and the local police to conduct their own investigations.
On Thursday, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo called for the investigation to be concluded “as quickly as possible” and requested the cooperation of local police.
“I made a call for my brother to get help, not for him to be lynched,” Daniel’s brother Joe Prude told a press conference Wednesday. For him, it is a “cold-blooded murder”.
“How many (black) brothers will still have to die for society to understand that this has to stop?” He asked.
Dozens of people gathered on Wednesday to demonstrate outside the public safety headquarters in Rochester. New gatherings were scheduled for Thursday, in Rochester, but also in New York.
“We did not do what was necessary for him,” said Mayor Warren at a press conference Thursday, “even after his death.” “But today, we have the opportunity to make the right decisions (…) to ensure that this does not happen again.”
Since 1964 and race riots that resulted in the departure of a significant portion of the white population, relations have been difficult between the Rochester police and the black community.
According to statistics from New York state, 49% of those arrested in 2018 in Monroe County, where Rochester is located, were black, while African Americans make up only 15% of the population.
The city’s police chief, La’Ron Singletary, who is black, said there was never any question of “covering up” the incident.
This new case comes after a series of brutal arrests of black women and men in the United States, including George Floyd.
The latter’s death on May 25 sparked protests across the country to protest police brutality and denounce the racism suffered by African Americans in the United States.
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