An independant investigation into the suffocation death of an unarmed black man during an arrest in upstate New York last year has found t...
An independant investigation into the suffocation death of an unarmed black man during an arrest in upstate New York last year has found that officials 'suppressed' information about the murder.
The report, commissioned by Rochester's city council and made public Friday, found that the city's mayor and former police chief kept critical details of the case secret for months and lied to the public about what they knew.
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren lied at a September 2 press conference, the report added, when she said it wasn't until August 2020 that she learned officers had physically restrained Daniel Prude, 41, during the arrest that led to his death.
She told reporters 'no' when they asked if she was aware about officers using psychical restraint on March 23, 2020, when she was, in fact, given this information on the same day.
The report also found that by mid-April she, then-Police Chief La´Ron Singletary and other officials were aware Prude had died as a result and the officers were under criminal investigation.
An independant investigation into the suffocation death of an unarmed black man Daniel Prude (pictured right) in March 2020 has found that Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren (pictured left) lied at a September 2 press conference about what she knew about the murder
Ex-Rochester Police Department Chief La'Ron Singletary (pictured) also kept critical details of the case secret for months and lied to the public about what he knew, the report says
'In the final analysis, the decision not to publicly disclose these facts rested with Mayor Warren, as the elected mayor of the city of Rochester,' said the report, written by New York City-based lawyer Andrew G. Celli Jr.
'But Mayor Warren alone is not responsible for the suppression of the circumstances of the Prude arrest and Mr. Prude's death.'
Prude died in March 2020, several days after police officers put a spit hood over his head and pressed his naked body against the street until he stopped breathing.
Prude's brother had called the Rochester police for help as the father-of-five was suffering a mental health emergency.
Police initially described his death as a drug overdose but the county medical examiner listed the manner of death as homicide caused by 'complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint' and cited the drug PCP as a contributing factor.
His death caused a wave of protests in Rochester after family released the shocking bodycam footage of the arrest in September.
The video shows Prude handcuffed and naked with a spit hood over his head as an officer pushes his face against the ground, while another officer presses a knee to his back.
The officers held him down for about two minutes until he stopped breathing. He was taken off life support a week later.
Warren said in a statement that she welcomed Friday's report 'because it allows our community to move forward.'
'Throughout city government, we have acknowledged our responsibility, recognized that changes are necessary and taken action,' she said, citing various measures on police practices and discipline.
The independent investigation released its report in Friday, pictured
In her statement, Warren didn't address the report's specific assessments of her own conduct.
A special counsel to the city administration disputed claims that Warren had lied.
The mayor spoke based on the facts known to her at the time and if what she said wasn't true, it was because Singletary had misled her, Carrie Cohen said.
The report said Singletary told the mayor the officers restrained Prude, but the chief 'consistently deemphasized' the role of restraints in Prude's death, and his statements to officials didn't 'capture the disturbing tenor of the entire encounter'.
Singletary's characterization 'likely impacted' how city officials viewed the matter, the report said.
A lawyer for Singletary said, under a first review of the report, Singletary 'was truthful in his statements' to Warren and other city officials.
'He never participated in any cover-up nor did he intentionally downplay the circumstances' around Prude's death, Michael Tallon said in a statement.
'When asked by the mayor to lie, he declined and he announced his retirement the next day,' he added.
Warren told the public Singletary initially told her Prude's death was a 'drug overdose,' but Friday's report said he never told her that.
Prude was naked and in handcuffs when the 'spit hood' was put over his head during an arrest on March 23 - after his brother called 911 seeking help for his erratic behavior
Paramedics arrived as Prude was wrestled to the floor, still wearing the 'spit hood'
The shocking bodycam footage sparked protests in Rochester, New York
The bodycam footage was released by Prude's family in September
Singletary, meanwhile, made 'untrue statements by omission' when he failed to correct Warren's claim during a September news conference that she was not informed Prude's death had been ruled a homicide, the report said.
It said Singletary told her of the finding on April 13.
Additionally, the report said, a city lawyer in August discouraged Warren from publicly disclosing Prude's arrest or commencing disciplinary action against the officers after she viewed body camera video of the encounter for the first time.
The lawyer incorrectly stated that the city was barred from taking action against the officers while the state attorney general's office was investigating Prude's death, the report said.
'There are no surprises in there. It confirms most of what I already knew,' said attorney Elliot Shields, who represents Prude's brother, Joe.
'What it shows me on a larger scale is the systemic failures of the city,' he said.
Prude (pictured) died in March 2020, several days after police officers put a spit hood over his head and pressed his naked body against the street until he stopped breathing
This undated photo shows Daniel Prude (right) posing with his brother Joe Prude, who had called the cops on March 23, 2020, when the father-of-five was having a mental health crisis
A grand jury last month declined to indict the officers involved.
Lawyers for the seven police officers suspended over Prude's death have said the officers were strictly following their training that night, employing a restraining technique known as 'segmenting.'
They claimed Prude's use of PCP, which caused irrational behavior, was 'the root cause' of his death.
Rochester's city council authorized the independent investigation into the handling of Prude's death within days of the video being made public and voted to give investigators the power to subpoena city departments.
Celli, in the report, noted that the decision to inform the public of a significant event 'is a policy judgment, and a political one, not a legal one,' and that there are no written rules or standards in Rochester governing the mayor or other officials in such matters.
'It is not for the special council investigator to pass judgment on whether the decisions by Rochester officials not to disclose the arrest and death of Daniel Prude were right or wrong,' Celli wrote.
'The judges of that question are the citizens of the city of Rochester and the public at large.'
People react after a grand jury voted not to indict officers in Daniel Prude's death last month
Lawyers for the seven police officers suspended over Prude's death have said the officers were strictly following their training that night. Pictured, a protester writes on a street with chalk after the New York grand jury voted not to indict police officers in Daniel Prude's death
The report also confirms that Rochester police commanders urged city officials to hold off on publicly releasing the body camera footage of Prude's suffocation death because they feared violent blowback if it came out during protests over the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In a June 4 email, Deputy Chief Mark Simmons cited the 'current climate' in the city and the nation and advised Singletary to press the city's lawyers to deny a Prude family lawyer's public records request for the footage of the encounter that led to his death.
'We certainly do not want people to misinterpret the officers´ actions and conflate this incident with any recent killings of unarmed Black men by law enforcement nationally,' Simmons wrote.
'That would simply be a false narrative, and could create animosity and potentially violent blow back in this community as a result.'
'Totally agree,' Singletary replied, according to the emails.
Rochester officials released the emails last fall, along with police reports and other documents.
The delay in the release of the bodycam footage led to New York Attorney General Letitia James' office implementing a new policy in which body camera footage will now be released earlier in the investigation process.
Warren fired Singletary and suspended the city lawyer, Corporation Counsel Tim Curtin, and communications director Justin Roj without pay for 30 days in response to fallout over the case.
Prude's death sparked several weeks of nightly protests and calls for Warren's resignation.
His family has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the police department sought to cover up the true nature of Prude´s death.
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