‘I placed a phone call for my brother to get help. Not for my brother to get lynched,’Joe Prude  – Victim’s brother who placed 911 call

Protests erupted upstate New York over video showing a black man, suffocating to death in March after cops put a ‘spit hood’ over his head and pressed his face down until he stopped breathing

Daniel Prude, 41, was left brain dead after the incident and later died on March 30 when he was taken off of life support – seven days after the encounter

Prude from Chicago was visiting family in Rochester – it is believed he was having a mental health incident at the time

His brother phoned for help on March 23 at 3 am after he left his house in Rochester in the snow, wearing nothing but underwear

Prude was behaving erratically, stripping as he walked through the streets and – according to police – smashing windows

Four cops responded; they told him to sit on the ground, which he did, and handcuffed him

He yelled at them that he had COVID-19 and they put a ‘spit hood’ over his head then laughed while he yelled profanities at them

When he tried to get to his feet, three cops pounced to hold him on the ground and after three minutes of holding him down, they noticed fluid coming out of his mouth and that he was unconscious

He was taken to the hospital but never woke up and was taken off life support three days later

ME ruled his death a homicide, on account of complications caused from asphyxia from physical restraint, as well as PCP intoxication

Rochester PD identified the officers present as Mark Vaughn, Paul Ricotta, Andrew Specksgoor, Josiah Harris, Troy Talladay and Sgt. Michael Magri

All six have remained on active duty

Prude’s family said they will sue everyone involved in his death

New York’s Attorney General Letitia James said her office is investigating the incident 

Protests have erupted in upstate New York after a newly surfaced video revealed how a 41-year-old handcuffed black man died of asphyxiation in March after a group of police officers put a hood over his head, then pressed his face into the ground until he stopped breathing.  
Daniel Prude, 41, was left brain dead after the incident and later died on March 30 when he was taken off of life support – seven days after the encounter with police in Rochester.
Significantly, while the fatal incident occurred on March 23 – weeks before George Floyd would die in Minnesota police custody in May, sparking nationwide protests. By contrast, Prude’s death received no public attention.
Daniel Prude’s brother had phoned for assistance because he was suffering a mental health episode.
He had walked out of his brother’s house at around 3am in frigid temperatures, wearing only long underwear, a tank top and socks.

As he made his way through the neighborhood, he started removing his clothes. Police claim he also smashed windows.
Several other people who encountered him called 911 to report his erratic behavior.
Prude was then stopped by Officer Mark Vaughn from the Rochester PD. Vaughn, pointing a taser, ordered him to lay on the ground and put his hands behind his back, to which he complied. Officer Vaughn then handcuffed Prude as he lay on his stomach. Prude spat, yelled and told the cops that he had COVID-19.
Next the officers put a hood over Prude’s head then laughed at him while he screamed profanities at them.  

After the hood was placed over his head, agitated man Prude became more agitated. He flipped onto his side and yelled ‘give me that gun!’.
Then, three of the cops pushed him into the cold ground and held him down for more than three minutes while he screamed. The cops only became worried when they noticed fluid seeping out of his mouth. By then, he was unconscious. 
Prude was taken to the hospital and placed on life support but he died seven days later. 
The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, caused by ‘complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint, excited delirium [and] acute phencyclidine [PCP] intoxication.’

The fatal incident occurred on March 23 – weeks before George Floyd would die in similar circumstances at the hands of arresting police officers in Minnesota.
The death of Floyd while in police custody in May, sparked ongoing nationwide protests. By contrast, Prude’s death received no public attention. The Mayor and the police chief both claim it is down to the Attorney General to make the case public. New York AG, Letitia James has announced that her office is investigating the case.

GRAPHIC: Disturbing video shows Daniel Prude suffocating during arrest by police officers in Rochester, NY

On Wednesday, Prude’s family held a news conference to reveal disturbing police body camera footage of his final moments, along with written reports they obtained through a public records request.
‘I placed a phone call for my brother to get help. Not for my brother to get lynched,’ Prude´s brother Joe said at a news conference Wednesday.
‘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?’ 
Protesters gathered Wednesday outside Rochester’s Public Safety Building, which also serves as its police headquarters.
The public outcry came as New York Attorney General Letitia James called his death a ‘tragedy’ and said her office had been investigating it before it became public.
For their part Rochester PD and Mayor said responsibility for disclosing the incident publicly, saying it was down to the AG’s office.
In face of the seeming slow-marching of justice, the victim’s family weighed a wrongful death lawsuit against the police department.  There have been loud calls to fire and charge the six cops involved – Officers Mark Vaughn, Officer Paul Ricotta, Officer Andrew Specksgoor, Officer Josiah Harris, Officer Troy Talladay and Sgt. Michael Magri. All six have remained on active duty.

Some of the disturbing images emerging from the newly surfaced bodycam footage include Prude sitting in the ground in handcuffs.  
He is heard yelling incoherently at the officers, shouting ‘Jesus Christ’ and ‘Give me your gun, I need it’. At one point, he invites officers to ‘come and look at this big d***,’ to which the cops on scene respond with laughter.
Officers stood around Prude in a semicircle, as Prude continued to yell at officers and at one point attempted to get to his feet.
Officers were seen pushing him back over and then slamming his head into the ground.

Prude demanded they remove the spit hood, saying, ‘trying to kill me!,’ before making muffled, anguished sounds from under the hood. 
For about three minutes, officers pinned Prude down on the cold ground. One officer, Mark Vaughn, is seen using both hands to push the side of Prude’s head into the pavement, in a push-up position with his knees suspended off the ground. 
Another officer, Troy Talladay, used his knee at one point to hold down Prude’s torso, and a third held down his legs.
As the officers pile on, Prude is heard screaming under the weight of the officers pinning him down, however his words are muffled as his face is pushed hard into the ground. Officers are heard urging him to ‘stop spitting’.

The officers appear concerned when they notice water coming out of Prude’s mouth.He then suddenly falls silent and still, having lost consciousness under the restraint.
One officer notes that he’s been out, naked, in the street for some time. Another remarks, ‘He feels pretty cold.’
When EMTs arrive on scene, the officers take the handcuff off Prude, roll him on his back and attempt chest compression after realizing he has no pulse.
The EMT tells cops not to worry since PCP causes ‘excited delirium’ and says ‘I guarantee you that’s why he coded,’ adding, ‘It’s not your fault guys.’
The medics continue performing CPR on Prude before he’s loaded into an ambulance, some 11 minutes after he first encountered police.
He was taken to the hospital and placed on life support, where he was later pronounced brain dead. He died seven days later on March 30.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating Prudes death. ‘The death of Daniel Prude was a tragedy, and I extend my deepest condolences to his family. I share the community’s concerns about ensuring a fair and independent investigation into his death and support their right to protest. 
‘Pursuant to Executive Order 147, the Special Investigations and
Prosecutions Unit of my office is already actively investigating this incident. 

‘As with every investigation, we will follow the facts of this case and ensure a complete and thorough examination of all relevant parties. 
‘We will work tirelessly to provide the transparency and accountability that all our communities deserve,’ she said.
Elliot Shield the attorney representing Prude’s family, said he obtained 80 minutes of body camera footage from an open-records request filed with the city of Rochester. Shields said none of the officers, as far as he’s aware, have been disciplined in relation to Prude’s death.

During a news conference Wednesday, Shields said that the Prude family ‘will sue everyone who is responsible for Daniel Prude’s death.’
Prude, of Chicago, had arrived in Rochester via Amtrack train on March 22 to stay with his brother. He was kicked off the train before it got to Rochester, in Depew, ‘due to his unruly behavior,’ according to an internal affairs investigator´s report.
Rochester police officers took Prude into custody for a mental health evaluation around 7pm that day for suicidal thoughts – about eight hours before the encounter that led to his death. But his brother said he was only at the hospital for a few hours, according to the reports.
Police responded again after Joe Prude called 911 at about 3am to report that his brother had left his house.

Activists are demanding that officers involved with Prude’s death be prosecuted on murder charges and that they be removed from the department while the investigation proceeds

The city halted its investigation into Prude’s death when state Attorney General Letitia James office began its own investigation in April.
Under New York law, deaths of unarmed people in police custody are often turned over to the attorney general’s office, rather than handled by local officials.
Prude, known to his Chicago-based family by the nickname ‘Rell,’ was a father of five adult children and had been working at a warehouse within the last year, said his aunt Letoria Moore.

James said Wednesday that investigation is continuing.
‘I want everyone to understand that at no point in time did we feel that this was something that we wanted not to disclose,’ Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren said at a press briefing.
‘We are precluded from getting involved in it until that agency [the AG´s office] has completed their investigation.’
Activists are demanding that officers involved with Prude’s death be prosecuted on murder charges and that they be removed from the department while the investigation proceeds.
‘The police have shown us over and over again that they are not equipped to handle individuals with mental health concerns. These officers are trained to kill, and not to de-escalate. These officers are trained to ridicule, instead of supporting Mr. Daniel Prude,’ Ashley Gantt of Free the People ROC said at the news conference with Prude’s family.

The city halted its investigation into Prude’s death when state Attorney General Letitia James office began its own investigation in April.
Protesters gathered Wednesday outside Rochester’s Public Safety Building, which serves as police headquarters to demand justice for Prude including the firing and prosecution of all the officers involved in his death.
Demonstrators and police later clashed outside of the building, with officers deploying pepper spray to disperse the crowd. 
Three activists were arrested inside the building on Wednesday afternoon.
Demonstrators remained as night fell. One person was reportedly taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries received during the arrest. The extent of their injuries is not currently known.

Rochester PD officers Mark Vaughn, Paul Ricotta, Andrew Specksgoor, Josiah Harris, Troy Talladay and Sgt. Michael Magri have been identified as the six members of the Rochester PD present on the night Daniel Prude died in police custody, namely.
During a news conference Wednesday, Shields said that the Prude family ‘will sue everyone who is responsible for Daniel Prude’s death.
‘They [officers], were released on appearance tickets, said Iman Abid, regional director of the New York chapter of the CLU, who was among those taken into custody during the protests.

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