News / Society

Protests planned, NY gov. calls for answers over police choking Black man

Thursday, 03 September 2020 9:03 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 03 September 2020 9:17 PM ]

A Rochester police officer is seen pressing the face of Daniel Prude into the pavement , on March 23, 2020, in Rochester, N.Y.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has called for "expeditious" answers from an investigation into the death of Daniel Prude who died of asphyxiation after a group of police officers put a hood over his head, then pressed his face into the pavement for two minutes while he was handcuffed and naked.

Meanwhile, protests were also planned following the release of a video showing the March incident which took place in upstate New York.

Prude died March 30 after he was taken off life support, seven days after the encounter with police in Rochester. His death received no public attention until Wednesday, when his family held a news conference and released the police body camera video and written reports they obtained through a public records request.

"For the sake of Mr. Prude's family and the greater Rochester community, I am calling for this case to be concluded as expeditiously as possible. For that to occur, we need the full and timely cooperation of the Rochester Police Department and I trust it will fully comply," Cuomo said.

The investigation into Prude’s death is being carried out by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"The Prude family and the greater Rochester community deserve answers, and we will continue to work around the clock to provide them," James said in a statement.

Video in Black man’s suffocation shows cops put hood on him

A Black man died of asphyxiation after a group of police officers put a hood over his head, then pressed his face into the pavement for two minutes.

Meanwhile, Rochester police chief La'Ron Singletary has said that internal and criminal investigations were underway.

"I know that there's a rhetoric that is out there that this is a cover-up. This is not a cover-up," Singletary said.

Prude’s family has called for the arrest of the officers involved in their son’s death.

The Monroe County medical examiner ruled Prude’s death a homicide caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint,” according to an autopsy report, the New York Times reported.

Meanwhile, activists, who were planning demonstrations in Rochester and New York City’s Times Square on Thursday, have called for the officers involved be arrested and charged in his death.

Following the video’s release, protests broke out in downtown Rochester, with police using pepper spray on the protesters and arresting nine people.

Justice for George Floyd

This episode focuses mainly on social media reaction to the death of George Floyd.

Prude's Death occurred two months before the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, which resulted in international condemnation of and protests against police brutality and racial injustice in the United States.

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