New York Protests Over March Video of Black PCP Freakout, Death in Police Custody

Just basically like, policing is illegal now.

The message of BLM is: black people should be allowed to do whatever they want.

Daily Mail:

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.

His brother had phoned for assistance because he was suffering a mental health episode. Prude 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 encountered him, with at least one calling 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. They put a hood over his head then laughed at him while he screamed profanities at them.

After the hood was placed over his head, 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.

While the fatal incident occurred on March 23 – weeks before George Floyd would die in Minnesota police custody in May, sparking nationwide protests – Prude’s death received no public attention. Both the Mayor and the police chief said it was down to the Attorney General – who is investigating Prude’s death – to reveal it.

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.

Protesters gathered Wednesday outside Rochester’s Public Safety Building, which also serves as its police headquarters. Demonstrators remained as night fell, demanding for the officers involved to be charged with murder.

WHEC reported that nine people were arrested during the day, most for criminal trespass or resisting arrest, and one for also inciting a riot. One activist was taken to hospital to be treated for injuries sustained during their arrest.

The bodycam footage shows 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.

When EMTs arrive on scene, the officers unhandcuff 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.’

Yeah, PCP is serious business. Freakout juice, basically.

The officers have already been suspended.

CBS News:

Seven police officers in Rochester, New York, have been suspended with pay following the release of body camera footage in the March death of Daniel Prude, the city’s mayor, Lovely Warren, announced Thursday. 

The footage, released Wednesday, showed police putting a hood on the 41-year-old’s head and shoving his face into the ground for three minutes while he was naked and handcuffed. Prude’s death was largely unknown until his family released the footage and police documents surrounding his death.

“Mr. Daniel Prude was failed by our police department, our mental health care system, our society, and he was failed by me,” Warren told reporters Thursday, adding, “I am suspending the officers in question today, against the advice of counsel.” 

“I understand that the union may sue the city for this,” she said. “They shall feel free to do so.”

Warren did not name the officers who were suspended. She claimed that Police Chief La’Ron Singletary originally told her Prude died of an overdose in police custody, and said she didn’t see video of the incident until August 4.

The move of course is to have them charged with crimes.