Rochester police put hood on Black man killed by asphyxiation
'These officers are trained to kill, and not to deescalate,' one activist said
By Louis Casiano | Fox News
A Black man restrained by western New York police officers in March died of asphyxiation after a hood was put over his head and his face was pressed into the pavement, according to police records.
Daniel Prude was visiting family in Rochester from Chicago when his brother, Joe Prude, called police to report he was having mental health issues. Daniel Prude, who had taken his clothes off, complied with responding officers and asked him to put his hands behind his back and get on the ground as light snow continued to fall.
During the March 23 encounter, officers put a "spit hood" over Prude's head. The garment is used to protect officers from saliva. Spit hoods have been scrutinized as a factor in deaths of several prisoners in the U.S. and other countries in recent years.
While on the ground, Prude demanded the hood be removed before an officer allegedly slammed his head into the street, police reports said. Another reportedly held his head against the pavement while ordering him to "stop spitting."
One officer wrote in a report that the hood was used because Prude was spitting at officers and they were concerned about the coronavirus.
His head was held down for 2 minutes before he stopped moving. Medics performed CPR before loading him into an ambulance. A medical examiner ruled Prude's death a homicide caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.â€
He was taken off life-support March 30. The report lists excited delirium and acute intoxication by phencyclidine, or PCP, as contributing factors to his death.
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