The mayor of Rochester, New York has suspended seven police officers involved in the arrest and subsequent death of Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old Black man who died of asphyxiation in March after being placed in a “spit hood,” Reuters reports.
Prude’s family called the police in an effort to secure the safety of Daniel, who had documented mental health problems. Police found Daniel standing in the middle of the street naked when they arrived on the scene.
After putting Prude in handcuffs, officers placed a mesh hood, known as a “spit hood,” over his head, believing that Prude had the coronavirus. He was placed face down on the pavement and officers put pressure on his back and on his head. Six officers and two paramedics were involved in the arrest.
During the event, Prude went unconscious and was unable to breath. He died a week later at a local hospital, and the county medical examiner ruled his death due to “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.”
“Mr. Daniel Prude was failed by our police department, our mental health care system, our society, and he was failed by me,” Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren told reporters. “We cannot continue to fail Black lives in this way.”