• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

Grand jury will not seek charges against Rochester officers involved in Daniel Prude case

Daniel Prude

Rochester police officers handling Daniel Prude, March 2020. (Wikipedia Commons)

February 23, 2021
Law OfficerbyLaw Officer
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A grand jury will not seek charges against officers connected to Daniel Prude, a suspect who died following an interaction with Rochester Police Department.

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the decision on Tuesday, noting that “many will be ‘rightfully” disappointed, but said they must respect the decision,” KXTV10 reported.

“In the course of the investigation, the Office of the Attorney General concluded that there was sufficient evidence surrounding Mr. Prude’s death to warrant presenting the case to a grand jury,” said a statement from the AG.

In March of 2020, at least two people called 911 about Prude’s behavior and welfare, included Prude’s brother, Joe Prude.

As reported by The Daily Wire, police reports indicated Prude was restrained by officers while waiting for the ambulance the officers summoned — video suggests this was done soon after Prude told officers, “Give me your gun, I need it.”

  • FORMER ROCHESTER CHIEF SAYS HE WAS FIRED FOR REFUSING TO LIE FOR MAYOR

As noted by Forbes, Prude “had been taken to the local hospital for suicidal thoughts about eight hours before his encounter with police on March 22.”

Body camera footage shows that officers were physically restraining Prude for about two minutes, and, according to media reports, the 41-year-old threw up and lost consciousness. He was reportedly resuscitated on the way to the hospital but likely suffered severe brain damage and was pulled from life support about a week later by his family, Daily Wire reported.

Notably, Prude has a mesh-like hood placed over his head, dubbed a “spit hood.” The device is used to protect officers from saliva. Prude was repeatedly spitting and reportedly telling people he had COVID. (The interaction with police was in March, at the height of the novel coronavirus pandemic.)

An autopsy report from the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to WXXI, “listed the cause of Prude’s death as ‘complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint due to excited delirium due to acute phencyclidine intoxication,’ an indication that Prude might have been high on PCP.”

  • LOUISIANA POLICE RELEASE SHOCKING VIDEO OF DEADLY GUN SHOP SHOOTING

A portion of the police report reads: “(The paramedic) stated that the observations of the subject were that he could be experiencing ‘excited delirium,’ which she described as a condition in which the subject is experiencing agitation and aggression; increased heart rate and respiration; overheating — which she stated would explain the subject being naked on a night when temperatures were around 32 degrees and mixed snow and precipitation — sweating, flushed appearance; excessive strength, a high tolerance for pain and incoherent speech.”

WXXI News reported in September on Prude’s interaction with police, giving more context via police reports in addition to body camera footage:

[Prude] had allegedly just gone on a destructive tear, according to police reports, smashing out the windows of several storefronts, and ranting about having the coronavirus. A passing tow truck driver who called 911 described Prude as being covered in blood.

Police body-camera footage shows officers who responded confronted Prude near Dr. Samuel McCree Way with Tasers drawn and ordered him to lay down on the road, which was slick from a light snowfall. Prude complied, laying face-down on his stomach, and officers cuffed his hands behind his back.

But in time, the 5-foot-10-inch, 230-pound man grew agitated. He began yelling vulgarities and tried, unsuccessfully, to stand up. Officers ordered him several times to return to the prone position before placing a white hood over Prude’s head, known as a “spit sock,” and restraining him by holding him down by his feet and his head, and applying pressure to Prude’s back with a knee.

Prude eventually fell unconscious and stopped breathing, according to police reports. 

New York attorney general
New York Attorney General Letitia James. (Wikipedia commons)

AGJames criticized police officers for lack of compassion and care for Prude. However, she included the following details in a press release:

“We concluded that there was sufficient evidence surrounding Mr. Prude’s death to warrant presenting the case to a grand jury, and we presented the most comprehensive case possible. While I know that the Prude family, the Rochester community, and communities across the country will rightfully be devastated and disappointed, we have to respect this decision.

James continued by saying the system “failed Mr. Prude and so many others before him” as she stumped for reform.


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: Daniel PrudeLititia JamesNew York attorney generalRochester Police Department
Law Officer

Law Officer

Law Officer is written by law enforcement for law enforcement and their supporters. We stand up and speak out to bring the facts, stats, and perspectives that matter for justice, law, and order in America.

Related Posts

Maliq McCullough

VIDEO: Carjacking suspects crash into school bus full of children while fleeing police

March 19, 2023
Tiffani Gatson (Greece Police Department)

Police officer in New York State accused of shooting two women—one fatally—before killing herself

November 15, 2022
Rochester officer

Rochester officer shot and killed in ‘ambush’ attack, second officer wounded by ‘cowardly’ gunman

July 22, 2022
SUV flips twice

SUV flips twice ending police chase in Rochester

June 19, 2022
Rochester teens

Rochester teens charged with setting man on fire inside his apartment

March 17, 2021
Lovely Warren

Report: Rochester Mayor lied following Daniel Prude death

March 14, 2021
Load More

Latest Articles

Florida officer

Florida officer survives getting hit and flipped by fleeing suspect vehicle

March 23, 2023
Jeremy McCain

Oklahoma County sheriff’s deputy dies more than a week after breaking neck in freak accident

March 23, 2023
Austin Lyle

Colorado high school shooting suspect found dead

March 23, 2023
Glen Robert Anderson

Former middle school paraprofessional sentenced to 20 years in child sextortion case

March 23, 2023
sniper rifle

Gust of wind blows sniper’s rifle off rooftop during St. Patrick’s Day parade in Buffalo

March 22, 2023
Ian Mitchell

‘Suave New York City conman’ dangles out window of high-rise as FBI serves search warrant

March 22, 2023
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

JOIN THE FIGHT

BE COURAGEOUS

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2021 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Illinois Network
    • Minneapolis Network
    • Tulsa Network
    • Wauwatosa Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2021 LawOfficer.com