Police officers involved in the fatal arrest of the 41-year-old man who passed away after cops placed a hood over his head before pressing his face into the ground have been suspended, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren announced.
The suspension comes after Daniel Prude’s family released bodycam footage of his final moments.
The horrifying video shows police officers placing a hood over Prude’s head before pressing his face into the ground until he stopped breathing.
The 41-year-old was left brain dead after the fatal arrest on March 23.
He passed away a week later and his death was ruled by the Monroe County medical examiner a ‘homicide caused by complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.’
The report also listed acute intoxication by phencyclidine and excited delirium as contributing factors to his death.
Prude’s heartbroken family have called for the officers involved in the fatal arrest to be charged with murder.
Mayor Warren told reporters: “I have never shied away from taking action and holding our police — or anyone that fails in their duties in our community — accountable. That is why I am suspending the officers in question today, against the advice of counsel.
She continued: “You cannot stand around and allow these types of things to happen. You have a duty. Mr. Daniel Prude was failed by the police department, our mental health care system, our society, and he was failed by me.”
According to reports, Prude’s brother Joe contacted 911 on March 23 as the 41-year-old started suffering a mental health episode.
Prude, who had been visiting his brother, walked out of the house at around 3 am wearing only his underwear, socks, and a tank top despite cold temperatures. He then walked through the streets, took his clothes off, and smashed windows.
He was stopped by Officer Mark Vaughn who pointed a taser at him and ordered him to put his hands behind his back, to which he obeyed. The officer handcuffed Prude as he lay on the ground.
Cops stood around the 41-year-old who started spitting at them while yelling he had coronavirus. When he tried to stand up, the cops pushed him back to the ground, covered his head with a hood, and kept his head into the pavement. He was pinned down on the cold ground for more than two minutes.
Officer Vaughn used his hands to push the man’s head into the ground while another officer used his knee to hold down Prude’s body. Another officer held down his legs.
The 41-year-old can be heard screaming and the officers urged him to ‘stop spitting’. The cops became concerned when they noticed water coming out of his mouth.
Prude’s brother, Joe, said during a conference: “I placed a phone call for my brother to get help. Not for my brother to get lynched.
“How did you see him and not directly say, ‘The man is defenseless, buck naked on the ground. He´s cuffed up already. Come on.’ How many more brothers gotta die for society to understand that this needs to stop?”
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Replaced!