NY attorney general forming grand jury after Daniel Prude’s death

New York’s attorney general on Saturday said she is forming a grand jury to investigate the death of Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old man who died after Rochester police held him down and fitted him with a spit hood in March.

“The Prude family and the Rochester community have been through great pain and anguish,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “My office will immediately move to (impanel) a grand jury as part of our exhaustive investigation into this matter.”

Daniel T. Prude, 41, of Chicago, died March 30 of asphyxiation in Rochester, a week after he was pinned to the ground by police officers. The video and documents related to the case were released Wednesday by Prude’s family, which had made a public records request, WROC reported.

The release of video footage led Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren to suspend seven police officers with pay and rebuke police Chief La’Ron Singletary for his handling of the case, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

Since the video came to light, rallies and protests have escalated in Rochester, WROC reported.

Friday night, Rochester police fired pepper balls and tear gas at protesters, WHAM reported. Police arrested 11 protesters, and three officers were hospitalized, the television station reported.

Prude, who had a history of mental illness, had left his brother’s home naked in the early hours of March 23 and ran through the streets. Behaving erratically, Prude told at least one person that he had the coronavirus, according to a police report. Prude’s brother called 911 after he ran away, telling police the man had gotten high on PCP, The Associated Press reported.

A Rochester police officer put the spit hood over Prude’s head about three minutes after police detained him. According to police, Prude spit a few times after the hood was put in place and was told to stop, The New York Times reported.

Prude complied with police orders but remained agitated. That is when the officers pinned him to the ground, with one keeping a knee on his back while another pressed the man’s face into the pavement, the Democrat and Chronicle reported. After noticing Prude was not breathing, police administered CPR and the man was taken to an area hospital. Prude died a week later. His death was ruled a homicide, according to the autopsy report. Monroe County Medical Examiner Nadia Granger made no mention of the spit hood, ruling Prude’s death a homicide caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.”

Cox Media Group