SIDELINED

Seven Rochester Police Officers Suspended Over Suffocation Death of Daniel Prude

Activists are demanding justice for yet another Black man killed in police custody.

The mayor of Rochester, New York, has suspended seven police officers involved in the March death of a Black man in custody after raw video footage was released on Wednesday, according to The New York Times. The officer’s body-camera footage showed Daniel Prude, whose family said he was suffering a mental health crisis at the time, forced facedown on the ground by police after the 41-year-old had reportedly run outside naked under the influence of PCP and shouted that he had COVID-19. Prude died seven days later and the Monroe County examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he had not seen the video footage before it was released on Wednesday. “For the sake of Mr. Prude’s family and the greater Rochester community, I am calling for this case to be concluded ‎as expeditiously as possible,” Cuomo said in a statement. “For that to occur, we need the full and timely cooperation of the Rochester Police Department and I trust it will fully comply‎.”