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Reuters
Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary has stepped down, denying claims that he tried to keep Daniel Prude’s death out of public scrutiny.
The leadership of a New York police force has resigned after the death of a black man who was hooded and detained during an arrest.
Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren told a city council meeting that the chief of police and deputy chief of police had announced their retirement.
A grand jury will help determine whether charges should be filed in the death of Daniel Prude in March.
Seven police officers involved in his arrest have been suspended.
Prude, 41, was said to have severe mental health problems when the police were called. Officers found him running naked on the street under a light snowfall and restrained him with a “spitting hood”, which is designed to protect police from detainees’ saliva.
Footage of the incident emerged recently, sparking new protests three months after anti-racism demonstrations rocked the United States following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
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Daniel Prude died a week after police detained him
What did the chiefs of police say?
Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary said in his statement Tuesday: “As a man of integrity, I will not stand idly by while outside entities try to destroy my character.”
“The mischaracterization and politicization of the actions that I took after being informed of Mr. Prude’s death is not based on facts, and it is not what I defend,” he added.
Deputy Chief Joseph Morabito also said he would retire, adding that he had worked in the police force for 34 years.
The police chief has denied that his department tried to keep the details of Prude’s death out of the public eye.
The police union said officers had followed their training “step by step.”
The hood is standard equipment for officers, said Michael Mazzaeo, president of the Rochester Police Locust Club union.
He added that officers were in a difficult position trying to help someone who appeared to have a mental illness.
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The protests in Rochester have taken place every night after the release of the images.
President Donald Trump, a Republican who accuses Democrats of being anti-police before the November election, tweeted about the resignations.
“The Democratic mayor and of course [sic]Governor Cuomo, I have no idea what to do. New York State is a mess, “he posted.
What did the mayor say?
Other senior commanders may also retire, Mayor Warren said according to the AP news agency.
The city leader has already said that systemic racism led to Prude’s death.
Mayor Warren also said she had not called for Singletary’s resignation.
“He did not try in any way to cover this up,” he added.
Later Tuesday, Mayor Warren said Singletary would remain in charge of the police department until the end of September.
“While the timing and tenor of these resignations are difficult, we have faced difficult times before. We will get through it together,” he said in a statement.
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The mayor said she will meet with the city council “to chart a way forward,” adding that she is “committed to instituting the necessary reforms in our police department.”
Last week, when the details of Prude’s death were made public following a public records request, the mayor expressed frustration with the police chief for not briefing him on the case beforehand.
She said Singletary had initially characterized Prude’s death as a drug overdose.
How did Daniel Prude die?
Police body camera video obtained by the family shows Mr. Prude lying on the ground while officers restrain him. You can see Mr. Prude, who was not carrying a weapon, meeting the officers immediately.
While sitting on the road, he fidgets, alternately asks for money or a gun, and spits on the ground.
An officer says Prude told them she has Covid-19, and they put the hood on her to spit.
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An officer can be seen pressing Mr. Prude’s head with both hands, saying “stop spitting.” Prude stops moving and falls silent, and the officers notice that she feels cold.
Prude was taken to the hospital by ambulance. His family agreed to have his life support taken off a week later, on March 30.
The Monroe County Medical Examiner ruled that Prude’s death was a homicide caused by “complications of suffocation in the context of physical restraint,” according to a post-mortem examination.
The autopsy report also cited “excited delirium” and acute poisoning by phencyclidine, or the drug PCP, as contributing factors.
