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The US police officers involved in the suffocation of a black man who had a “spit hood” put on his head have been suspended, announced the mayor of the city where he died.
Activists have demanded that murder charges be brought against a US police force after Daniel Prude died of suffocation while immobilized by officers in Rochester, New York.
Prude is the most recent case of a black American who was killed by police officers in the United States.
The father of five died in March at age 41, but his death was only made public this week after his family released police body camera images taken during his arrest.
It comes after the death of black American citizens George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks while in police custody, sparking widespread protests in American cities that have spread across the world.
Last month, there were more protests after Jacob blake, who is also black, was shot seven times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, paralyzed from the waist down.
According to police reports, on March 22, Mr. Prude was taken to the hospital for a mental health evaluation after having suicidal thoughts.
Her brother Joe called the police hours later, around 3 a.m., after Prude ran out of her home in Rochester.
A memorial to George Floyd in Houston’s 3rd Ward where he grew up
The footage shows Prude, who had taken off her clothes, obeying when the police asked her to get down on the ground and put her hands behind her back.
He is seen sitting on the bare ground, screaming for release before spitting on the ground, prompting officers to put a hood over Mr. Prude’s head.
They later said it was because they were worried about coronavirus.
Prude then squirms on the ground before sitting up and demanding to have one of the officer’s weapons.
Then three officers hit his head on the ground and pin him down, and Mr. Prude can be heard sobbing and calling for help.
An officer is then seen placing his knee on Mr. Prude, but it is unclear where he is placing it.
Prude continues to ask for help before falling silent.
The officers seem concerned when they notice water coming out of Mr. Prude’s mouth and the paramedics treat him.
He later died in hospital on March 30.
A medical examiner ruled that Mr. Prude’s death was a homicide caused by “complications from suffocation under physical restraint.”
The report lists “excited delirium” and “acute phencyclidine or PCP poisoning” as contributing factors.
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren announced the suspension of the officers involved Thursday.
At a press conference, Prude’s brother said: “I made a phone call for my brother to seek help. Not for my brother to be lynched.
“How did you see him and didn’t say directly, ‘The man is defenseless, completely naked on the ground. He’s already handcuffed. Let’s go’.
“How many more brothers have to die for society to understand that this must end?”
Prude, who was from Chicago and called Rell, had been working in a warehouse for the last year.
Prude had been traumatized by the deaths of her mother and a brother in recent years, having lost another brother before that, her aunt Letoria Moore said in an interview.
Paying tribute to her nephew, Ms. Moore said, “He was just a bright, loving, family-oriented person, always available to us when we needed him.”
New York State halted its own investigation into his death after Attorney General Letitia James began investigating. That investigation is still ongoing.
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Under New York law, deaths of unarmed people in police custody are often turned over to the attorney general’s office, rather than being handled by local officials.
Ms Warren said at a press conference: “I want everyone to understand that at no point did we feel that this was something we did not want to reveal.
“We cannot get involved in this until that agency has completed its investigation.”
