Daniel Prude: US police officers in 'spit hood' death to face no charges
A grand jury decides that the officers involved in the death of an unarmed black man last March will not be charged.
Wednesday 24 February 2021 07:28, UK
US police officers who were filmed putting a "spit hood" on an unarmed black man and restrained him until he stopped breathing will not be charged over his death, officials have said.
Daniel Prude, 41, died last March, several days after his encounter with police in Rochester, New York.
Police initially said he died of a drug overdose and his death went mostly unnoticed.
However, police bodycam footage was released nearly six months later following pressure from Mr Prude's family, which sparked nightly protests.
It followed the deaths of other black US citizens , and Rayshard Brooks while being detained by police, which triggered widespread protests in US cities and around the world.
Attorney General Letitia James, whose office took over the investigation, said her office had "presented the strongest case possible" to the grand jury, but could not persuade it that the officers had committed a crime.
She said she knew the Prude family would be "rightfully disappointed by this outcome" but said she was bound to respect the grand jury's decision.
But she condemned a system that she said had "frustrated efforts to hold law enforcement officers accountable for the unjustified killing of African Americans".
Ms James added: "What binds these cases is a tragic loss of life in circumstances in which the death could have been avoided.
"One recognises the influences of race, from the slave codes to Jim Crow, to lynching, to the war on crime, to the overincarceration of people of colour: Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd. And now Daniel Prude."
On Tuesday evening, hundreds of protesters gathered on the street where Mr Prude was detained.
The 23 March video of Prude's fatal encounter with police was initially withheld from police in fears it could ignite street protests occurring nationwide over the killing of George Floyd.
Released on 4 September, the video showed officers placing a mesh bag over Mr Prude's head to stop him from spitting after they arrested him for running naked through the streets.
According to police reports, Mr Prude was brought into hospital for a mental health evaluation on 22 March after having suicidal thoughts.
His brother Joe then rang police hours later at about 3am after Mr Prude ran out of his house in Rochester.
Three officers appeared to slam his head into the ground and restrain him, and Mr Prude can be heard sobbing and asking for help.
One officer is then seen placing his knee on Mr Prude, but it was not clear where he had placed it.
Father-of-five Mr Prude continues to cry for help in the clip before he goes silent.
"The system failed Daniel Prude again," Prude family lawyer Elliot Shields said following the grand jury's decision.
"It failed him on 22 March when he was released from the hospital. It failed him on the night of 23 March when the police used deadly force against him. And it failed him again today."
Mr Shields said Mr Prude's brother, Joe Prude, was "heartbroken".
Officers Troy Taladay, Paul Ricotta, Francisco Santiago, Andrew Specksgoor, Josiah Harris and Mark Vaughn, along with Sgt Michael Magri, were suspended after Mr Prude's death became public.
The officers will remain on leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, according to Rochester police chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan.