Daniel Prude death: No charges for Rochester police officers

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The Rochester police officers involved in the death of Daniel Prude will not face charges after a grand jury elected not to indict.

“A grand jury has voted not to indict any police officer on charges related to the death of Daniel Prude,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said Tuesday. “My office concluded there was sufficient evidence surrounding Mr. Prude’s death to present the case to a grand jury, and we presented the most comprehensive case possible.”

Attorney General James made the announcement Tuesday from the Aenon Missionary Baptist Church on Genesee Street in Rochester.

“Daniel Prude was in the throes of a mental health crisis and what he needed was compassion, care, and help from trained professionals. Tragically, he received none of those things,” said Attorney General James. “While I know that the Prude family, the Rochester community, and communities across the country will rightfully be disappointed by this outcome. But ultimately we have to respect the decision.

“The current laws on deadly force have created a system that utterly and abjectly failed Mr. Prude and so many others before him,” James said. “Serious reform is needed, not only at the Rochester Police Department, but to our criminal justice system as a whole. I will be pursuing a multifaceted approach to address the very issues that have prevented us from holding officers accountable when they improperly use deadly force. I am committed to effecting the change that is so desperately needed, and I will be unshakeable in my efforts to see it through.”

The attorney general said she was “extremely disappointed” in the grand jury’s conclusion. Her office compiled a report of recommendation for police reform in response to Prude’s death, including use of force standards and mental health response (full report below).

The attorney general said a judge granted her motion to unseal and publicly release the grand jury minutes related to the investigation. She released a statement Tuesday evening saying, “as soon as the judge authorizes, my office will release those proceedings so the Prude family, the Rochester community, and communities across the country will no longer be kept in the dark. This is a critical step in effecting the change that is so desperately needed.”

“I am disappointed, extremely disappointed,” James said. “Unfortunately, historically, if one analyzes the intersection of the criminal justice system and race, one recognizes the influence of race. From the slave clothes, to lynches, to Jim Crow, to the war on crime, to the over incarceration of the people of color. Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and now Daniel Prude.

“We need to have a conversation about the issues and the reality is that all of us suffer from unconscious bias,” James said. “But we need to have a systematic change in the criminal justice system and police in New York, and all throughout this nation, and we need to analyze the numbers, analyze the race of the individuals who are no longer with us, and reform the practices, if we are going to focus on a more just criminal justice system and a more perfect union.”

A community gathering is scheduled Tuesday for Jefferson Avenue in Rochester, the site where Prude’s encounter with police took place.

Seven Rochester police officers were suspended with pay in connection to the incident: Officers Mark Vaughn, Troy Taladay, Paul Ricotta, Francisco Santiago, Andrew Specksgoor, Josiah Harris, and Sgt. Michael Magri.

MORE | Daniel Prude death: Police encounter caught on body camera sparks NY AG investigation, protests in Rochester

Prude, a 41-year-old Black man from Chicago, died after an encounter with Rochester police back in March, but news of the incident just came to light in September, and now the case is being investigated by the New York State Attorney General’s Office.

The autopsy report from the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death of Prude a homicide. The report says Prude’s cause of death includes “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.” The report also showed that Prude also had a small amount of PCP in his system at the time of his death, which could explain his erratic behavior.

In a one-on-one interview with News 8 anchor Adam Chodak in September of 2020, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said she was kept in the dark regarding Prude’s death, adding that that the RPD’s handling if the incident was “clear deception,” and “done purposefully.”

However, in a public deposition with Rochester City Council earlier this month, Former Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary disputed some of Mayor Warren’s claims.

Singletary was fired by Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren in September, after details about Prude’s March death following an encounter with Rochester police first became public.

In December, the City of Rochester’s Office of Public Integrity has cleared all city employees of any potential wrongdoing in connection to the death of Daniel Prude.

In regards to other Rochester police matters, the attorney general said she would be meeting with the 9-year-old girl who was recently pepper sprayed by RPD officers.

“I will be meeting with the 9 year old girl who was unfortunately pepper sprayed,” James said. “Our office is looking at that case and we will be meeting with her, and her family. We need to take a systematic look at policing in Rochester, and not just Rochester, but all throughout the state of New York.”

Watch the full announcement:

Statement from Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren

“The announcement by the Attorney General is hard for many of us to understand. Today’s findings will not undo the damage done nor bring Mr. Prude back to his loved ones. And, we extend our fullest prayers and condolences to his children and his family. There are no words that can comfort a family who has lost their loved one in this tragic way. Our actions going forward will ensure that Daniel Prude’s death was not in vain.

As a City and a community we must work towards changing policies and procedures to correct the inequities in the system. I am committed to focusing my energy and anger on creating the change our community so desperately seeks, and I ask that you join with me.

Our recent draft proposals reimaging policing in response to Executive Order 203, and Chief Herriott-Sullivan’s revised orders and procedures, which she will announce soon, are evidence of this effort.

I ask us all to put the wellbeing of our community first and to act with sincerity to improve our City. If we do that with the dignity and humanity God has instilled in all of us, we will create the change that Mr. Prude’s death, and that our history, demands.

I pray that we all choose this path. I pray for the Prude family, and for his soul, on this difficult day. Let us live the words we have all spoken to create a most just and equitable Rochester for everyone. God bless you and our City.”

Attorney General Recommendations:

While the grand jury voted not to indict any officers, serious concerns about the actions of the Rochester Police Department remain. Attorney General James issued a number of recommendations to the RPD to address these concerns, most notably related to its handling of mental health crises.

1) Law enforcement officers, emergency communications providers (dispatchers), and emergency medical service personnel must be trained to recognize the symptoms of excited delirium syndrome and to respond to it as a serious medical emergency.

Daniel Prude was experiencing a mental health crisis and the RPD and the city of Rochester failed to ensure that trained mental health professionals responded to the scene. Mr. Prude was experiencing “excited delirium,” a condition often associated with the intake of drugs that can be characterized by irrational behavior and an increased heart rate that can put individuals at risk of death if subjected to stressful conditions. Responding officers knew that Mr. Prude was experiencing a mental health crisis, yet the officers who ultimately restrained Mr. Prude were largely unfamiliar with how to handle this type of medical emergency.

Since Executive Order 147 took effect in 2015, the Attorney General’s Office has repeatedly observed cases throughout the state with similar factual characteristics. Excited delirium is accepted as a medical emergency and it requires an immediate and coordinated response. It’s imperative that all police officers, emergency dispatch providers, and emergency medical technicians be trained to recognize the symptoms and trained to respond to this serious medical emergency.

2) All communities should assess models for responding to crisis situations that minimize or eliminate police responses to mental health calls whenever possible; passing “Daniel’s Law” would greatly aid in this endeavor.

Rochester and all communities should create and implement models for responding to crisis situations that minimize or eliminate police responses to mental health calls whenever possible.

The City of Rochester recently released its policing reform proposal in response to Executive Order 203, which includes a new “Person in Crisis” (PIC) team pilot program that would constitute a “law enforcement alternative response to mental health, domestic violence, and other identified crisis calls” and would send trained social workers to calls, completely independent of police. Any effort to identify mental illness calls and divert them away from a law enforcement response and toward mental health specialists is critical, however, the city noted that PIC would only be dispatched if there were “no weapons or injuries, or no crime has been committed.” As the model is presently constructed, Mr. Prude’s case would have been outside the purview of PIC’s response. Instead, Attorney General James recommends that the city consider a tiered approach in situations where a person is in emotional distress that takes into account any potential safety concerns.

The passage of “Daniel’s Law” — named in honor of Daniel Prude — would make significant changes to the mental-health-response landscape in New York. Among its features, the law would establish mental health response units specifically trained and equipped to de-escalate mental health crises — including those involving, or precipitated by, substance abuse.

3) New York should mandate de-escalation training for all police officers, and police agencies should reflect a commitment to de-escalation in their use of force policies.

Attorney General James again recommends that all police officers in New York state receive de-escalation training, which carries the potential to save lives in situations that might otherwise evolve into tragic uses of force. Early on in his interactions with RPD officers, Mr. Prude demonstrated that he was amenable to their requests and did not show any resistance. Rather than engage in de-escalation techniques, officers ultimately used force against Mr. Prude. Attorney General James urges the New York state legislature to act to require that all law enforcement officers in New York receive training in how to defuse incidents, using communications-based de-escalation, as a condition of their continued employment.

4) The City of Rochester should adopt a body worn camera release policy regarding critical incidents.

The manner in which the body-worn camera footage was released in this case created community outrage, and Attorney General James has previously recommended that agencies develop policies about what information will be released to the public following police involved uses of force and when. As of February 23, 2021, the RPD has no written, publicly available policy governing the release of video in critical incidents. The RPD must adopt a policy governing release of body worn camera evidence following critical incidents.

5) Law enforcement agencies should explore the use of spit sock alternatives.

Spit socks are widely used by members of law enforcement, emergency medical service providers, and hospital workers in order to restrict the flow of saliva from one individual to another and thereby reduce the spread of disease. The type of spit sock in use at the RPD is made of mesh and fits loosely around an individual’s head. In this case, there was no evidence that the spit sock placed over Mr. Prude’s head directly contributed to his death — there was no evidence that the spit sock impeded Mr. Prude’s airflow or impaired his circulation. However, it clearly added to his stress and agitation, and it is unknown as to whether that further contributed to his death. In light of this, agencies should investigate whether alternatives to traditional spit socks, such as plastic face coverings worn by officers, might be a better alternative when dealing with highly agitated subjects.