Rochester police commanders have urged city officials to release body camera footage in public. Daniel Proud’s suffocating death Because he feared a violent blow if the video came out during a nationwide protest over the police murder of George Floyd, newly published emails have been shown. Deputy Chief Mark Simmons referred to the “current climate” in the city and country in a June 4 email. Then Chief L’Ron Singlettery Pressure the city’s attorneys to reject the Prude family’s attorney’s request for public records for footage of the March 23 encounter that led to his death.
The video, finally released by Prude’s family on Sept. 4, shows an officer pushing his face against the ground, while another officer shows Prude’s handcuffs and naked with spit on his head as he presses his knees to his back. Officers held him for about two minutes until he stopped breathing. A week later he was stripped of life support.
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“We certainly don’t want people to misinterpret the actions of officials and confront this phenomenon with the recent killing of unarmed black men nationally by law enforcement,” Sims wrote. “It would simply be a false story, and could result in animosity and potentially violent blow to this community.”
Western New York City released emails, police reports and other documents Monday after Mayor Lovely Werner fired Cingletri and suspended the corporation’s counsel Tim Curtin and communications director Justin Rose for 30 days amid the continuing consequences of Prude’s death. Simmons was appointed interim chief of the police department.
Simmons’ emails echoed emails from other police officers worried about releasing a video of the March 23 encounter when the city was denied a Freedom of Information Act request as protesters took to the streets of Rochester and elsewhere to protest Flood’s May 25 death in Minneapolis. Other police killings of black people.
Lieutenant Mike Perkowski told the city’s attorney on June 4 that he was “very concerned” about this premature release in light of what was happening, and Capt. Frank Umrino told another police officer that “any information should be together with the publication and coordinated .With the mayor and the chief, because it has very intense ceremonies. “
According to documents released Monday, Simmons sent the main message to Singletri with his message. Simmons suggested the city deny the request because the case is being investigated by the state’s attorney general’s office.
According to the emails, “I totally agree,” Singlettari replied.
After June 4, as discussion of the record request continued, city attorney Stephanie Prince told Curtin about the way to buy more time: The attorney general’s office allowed Fees to show the video to the family, as it has done in other cases, but did not give them a copy.
“As such, the City has not released anything related to the case for at least a month (more like 2), and it will not be publicly available,” Prince wrote.
Warren said she didn’t see body camera footage until the city’s attorneys played for her on Aug. 4, and that Singletari initially misled her about the circumstances of Prude’s death.
After watching the video, Vernon emailed SingleTree that he was “outraged” by the officer’s behavior, pressing his head against the ground, and that he should immediately investigate the discipline.
In an unsent draft of that email, Veren excluded SingleTree for having “overall underplayed” Ren Prude’s death by first describing a drug overdose for him. In the deputation, prepared with the help of Deputy Mayor James Smith, Warren said she strongly believes Vaughn should be fired and if she had seen the footage at the time, she would have demanded Vaughn’s termination in March. He suspended Vaughan and six other officers last week.
“Quite frankly, I would have expected the police chief to show me this video in March,” Warner wrote in the draft. The tone down version sent to Singletri does not include that comment.
“I should know. Everyone is right. I should know,” Warren told WHEC-TV on Tuesday. “But this incident – an unfortunate and tragic situation – was defeated from the beginning like a PCP overdose.”
A cursory management review of Smith’s management of the city on Pruden’s death found that stopping the release of my video on camera due to concerns about the cost of icicles did “significant damage” to the city working to improve relations between police and the public. .
“It makes sense that anyone who watched the video of Mr. Prude’s encounter with the RPD could not fully understand these events without mentioning bad publicity, politics, process or misrepresentation,” Smith wrote. “Rochester is in dire need of healing. We have lost the opportunity to start that process in about six months.”
The city council voted Tuesday night to overturn its decision to build a new $ 16 million police station, WHEC-TV reported.
SingleTree announced his retirement last week as part of a major upheaval in the city’s police leadership, but plans to continue until the end of the month. In announcing his retirement on September 8, leading critics accused him of trying to “destroy my character and integrity.”
Prude’s death marks the beginning of nearly two weeks of nightly protests and calls for Warren’s resignation. Her family has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the police department wanted to cover up the real nature of Prude’s death.
The WRO, affiliated with CBS, reported that police officers arrived at City Hall early Wednesday to disperse protesters who had been on the scene since early Tuesday morning.
Over a loudspeaker on Wednesday morning, the Rochester Police Department said arrests would be made as a result of failing to leave the area, but protesters remained at the scene.
“We’ll be here, this won’t change anything,” said Ashley Gant, organizer of Free the People and NYCLU.
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