Joe (right) and Armin Prude, brother and son of Daniel Prude, who died of suffocation by police in March 2020 (photo taken September 3, 2020).

-

Ted Shaffrey / AP / SIPA

The pressure was too much.

The Rochester, New York, police chief on Tuesday announced he was stepping down from his post, days after several of his men were charged with causing the suffocation death of Daniel Prude, a Unarmed African American during an arraignment.

During the arrest, which dates back to March but of which a video was published last week, a police officer presses with both hands on a hood placed on the head of Daniel Prude, who ends up losing consciousness.

The man, who was in the throes of a psychotic episode at the time of his arrest, died a week later in hospital, without ever coming out of a coma.

Naked in the street when the police arrived, Daniel Prude was unarmed and was quickly handcuffed, before one of the officers present put a hood over his head to prevent him from spitting on the police because he said he had contracted the coronavirus.

The seven officers present were all suspended pending the findings of the investigation by New York State Attorney Letitia James.

He denies trying to cover up the case

Rochester Police Chief La'Ron Singletary in a statement considers what has been said of his supposed lack of initiative, or even his alleged attempt to cover up the case after the drama, "a distorted presentation "And that he is the victim of a" politicization "of the file.

"I am a man of integrity and I will not stand idly by when outside forces seek to discredit me," said the policeman, who is African-American.

Aged 40, La'Ron Singletary was appointed, in April 2019, chief of police in Rochester, where he spent 20 years before exercising his right to retirement.

The New York State prosecutor announced on Saturday that she would convene a grand jury, a step ahead of a possible indictment.

The forensic institute concluded, after autopsy, that the death of Daniel Prude was a homicide, linked to "asphyxiation resulting from physical constraint".

The scandal has sparked protests in Rochester, as well as New York, to demand justice and reforms to the Rochester police force.

The death of Daniel Prude echoes those of George Floyd or Breonna Taylor, also black, during violent arrests, which have sparked hundreds of demonstrations in the United States since May.

World

United States: Anger rises after the death of Daniel Prude, suffocated in March, 7 police suspended

  • United States

  • World

  • Black Lives Matter

  • Police violence