Thursday, March 28, 2024

Daniel Prude: Black Man Suffocates to Death after Cops Place ‘Spit Hood’ Over His Head, Family Says (Video)

Rochester Police Death
In this image taken from police body camera video provided by Roth and Roth LLP, a Rochester police officer puts a hood over the head of Daniel Prude, on March 23, 2020, in Rochester, N.Y.

*An unarmed African-American man died in New York after the police held him down on the road for two minutes and put a “spit hood” over his head, designed to protect officers from a detainee’s saliva.

The incident took place in March but only came to light Wednesday (Sept. 2) when the family released police bodycam footage. In a news conference Wednesday, the brother of 41-year-old Daniel Prude said he called Rochester police on March 23 to report that Daniel was having acute mental health problems and running naked through the streets in light snow. Daniel Prude, a warehouse worker from Chicago and father of five, was visiting his brother, Joe Prude, at the time. Bodycam footage obtained by the family shows the victim unarmed as officers restrained him on the ground.

 

In the video, Daniel Prude is seen to comply immediately when officers arrived and ordered him to lie on the ground with his hands behind his back. Once he was restrained, Prude told officers that he had COVID-19. Police then placed a “spit hood” over his head. Prude demands they remove it. The officers then slam Prude’s head into the street. One officer holds his head down against the pavement with both hands, saying “stop spitting” as Prude’s shouts turn to whimpers and grunts.

Another officer places a knee on his back. The officers appear to become concerned when they notice water coming out of Prude’s mouth. After Prude stops writhing and goes quiet, one officer can be heard saying, “He feels pretty cold.”

Medics try to revive him before he’s carried into an ambulance. When he arrived at the hospital 15 minutes later, he was brain dead, Joe Prude said. He was taken off life support on March 30.

Watch the graphic footage below:

Protesters gathered in the city of Rochester on Wednesday to condemn Daniel Prude’s death.The New York state’s attorney general called the death a “tragedy” and said an investigation was underway. The officers involved have not been suspended.

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Family of Daniel Prude holds a press conference

Organizers from the group Free the People Roc, a Black Lives Matter group, named three officers they say were involved in the incident. Family members are calling on the firing and arrest of all the officers involved in Daniel Prude’s death.

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