New York State – No charges after fatal police operation in Rochester

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In the case of an African-American man who died after a police operation in New York state last year, a jury waived charges against officials. The state attorney general, Letitia James, announced this on Tuesday. She was “extremely disappointed” with this decision. But the jury would have the last word on the case. The public prosecutor’s office has to respect their decision.

A video of the incident published in September caused great outrage. In Rochester as well as in the city of New York, there were demonstrations against police violence and racism because of the incident.

According to the autopsy, a homicide offense

The recordings show how the African American Daniel Prude lies naked and unarmed on a street. He becomes increasingly excited after the officers handcuff him.

You can also see that Prude is put on a spit hood, an officer then presses his head on the floor. The 41-year-old passed out and died in hospital a week later. The autopsy concluded that it was a homicide.

Prude’s brother had called the police for the operation. He said he called the police about his brother’s mental health problems.

Resignation of the police chief

The police operation against Prude took place on March 23, but was not made known until early September through the video from a police officer’s body camera. The incident resulted in the resignation of Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary, who is also an African American.

Cases of fatal police violence against blacks sparked anti-racism demonstrations for months in the United States last year. The original trigger for the protests was the death of the African American George Floyd in a brutal police operation at the end of May in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On the fringes of the mostly peaceful protests, there were repeated riots.

AFP / chk

Posted today at 2:45 am