ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) — A pastor called on church elders to stand between Rochester police and protesters Sunday evening in the fifth night of demonstrations over the the death of a Black man who lost consciousness after police held a hood over his head.
Three officers were treated at hospitals for injuries they suffered when “projectiles and incendiary devices” were hurled at them during Saturday night’s protests over the death of Daniel Prude earlier this year, Lt. Greg Bello of the Rochester police said in a news release. Nine protesters were arrested.
The Democrat and Chronicle reported that some protesters were hit by projectiles as well as thousands marched through the streets of New York’s third-largest city. No information about injuries to protesters was provided by police.
The Rev. Myra Brown called for about 50 church elders to gather at Spiritus Christi Church in downtown Rochester Sunday evening to serve as a “buffer” so protesters are free to express themselves without police interference. “We elders have volunteered to put our bodies on the line to make sure that happens,” Brown said at a news conference with Mayor Lovely Warren and Police Chief La’Ron Singletary.
The New York Civil Liberties Union criticized the police use of “military tactics” including sound cannons, flash bangs, tear gas, and pepper balls against the demonstrators.
“People speaking out are not enemy combatants, and to fire flash bangs, tear gas, and pepper balls at demonstrations against police violence only proves the point,” NYCLU Genesee Valley chapter director Iman Abid said in a statement Sunday. “The mayor and RPD must stop these warfare tactics now.”
The marches took place as New York’s attorney general announced Saturday that a grand jury would investigate Prude’s death.
“The Prude family and the Rochester community have been through great pain and anguish,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Saturday. She said the grand jury would be part of an “exhaustive investigation.”
Prude’s death after his brother had called seeking help for his erratic behavior in March has sparked protests since video of the encounter was made public Wednesday, with protesters demanding police accountability and legislation to change how authorities respond to mental health emergencies.
Prude, 41, was naked and handcuffed when he was held down by officers who responded to his brother’s call. Police body camera video shows the officers covering Prude’s head with a “spit hood” designed to protect police from bodily fluids, then pressing his face into the pavement for two minutes. Prude died a week later after he was taken off life support.
The Monroe County medical examiner listed the manner of death as homicide caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.” The report cited excited delirium and acute intoxication by phencyclidine, or PCP, as contributing factors.
A police internal affairs investigation cleared the officers involved of any wrongdoing, concluding in April that their “actions and conduct displayed when dealing with Prude appear to be appropriate and consistent with their training.” The seven officers were suspended Thursday after Prude’s family released the video from the scene.
Mayor Lovely Warren thanked James for taking action in what she called “a trying time in Rochester.”
Protesters have called on Warren and Singletary to step down over the delay in releasing details of Prude’s death. The mayor and police chief said Sunday they had no plans to resign.
“The chief and I, we love our city. We were born and raised here,” Warren said Sunday. “We are committed to making the necessary changes to make sure this community moves forward.”
Warren said the city is working to re-envision the police department and the way it responds to mental health crises.