New York police investigated following death of black man
● Spit hood forced on victim whose face was pressed into pavement
A black man died of asphyxiation after a group of US police officer sputa hood over his head then pressed his face into the pavement for two minutes.
Daniel Prude died in hospital on 30 March after he was taken off life support following his encounter with police in Rochester, New York.
Officers were called to help Mr Prude by his brother, who was worried about his welfare and mental health.
His death received no public attention until Wednesday, when his family held a press conference and released police body camera video and written reports they obtained through a public records request.
The videos show Mr Prude, who had taken off his clothes, complying when police ask him to get on the ground and put his hands behind his back. He is agitated and shouting as officers let him writhe as he sits on the pavement in handcuffs for a few moments.
Joe Prude, Daniel’s brother, said: “I placed a phone call for my brother to get help. Not for my brother to get lynched.
“How did you see him and not directly say, ‘ The man is defenceless, buck naked on the ground. He’ scuffed up already. Come on’.
“How many more brothers gotta die for society to understand that this needs to stop?”
The officers are seen putting asp it hood over Mr Prude’ s head despite objections, with the victim saying :“Trying to kill me”.
The officers slam Mr Prude’s head into the street, then one officer holds his head down against the pavement with both hands, saying “stop spitting” as Mr Prude’s shouts turn to whimpers and grunts.
The officers appear to become concerned when they notice water coming out of Mr Prude’s mouth and paramedics were called.
A medical examiner concluded that Mr Prude’s death was a homicide caused by “complications of asphyxiain the setting of physical restraint”.
The report lists excited delirium and acute intoxication by phencyclidine, or PCP, as contributing factors.
One officer wrote that they put the hood on Mr P rude because he was spitting continuously in the direction of officers and they were concerned about coronavirus.
In a statement, New York state’s attorney general called the death a “tragedy” and said an investigation was under way.
The officers involved have not been suspended.
Mr Prude’ s death was two months before the killing of George Floyd, who died after a white police man knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes in Minnesota. Anti-racism protests broke out in the US and globally in the wake of his killing and are proving a key battleground ahead of the presidential election.
●Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden last night visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he held private talks with the family of Jacob Blake, who remains hospitalized after being shot seven times in the back by a white police officer as authorities tried to arrest him.
Biden also planned to hold a community discussion with business figures, civic leaders and law enforcement officials.
“This is about making sure that we move forward,” Biden told reporters. He added that he’s “not going to tell Keno - sha what they have to do” but instead encourage a community to “talk about what has to be done.”
Biden has promised that he can“unify the country” and has called for an over haul of US policing, embraced a national conversation on racism and chose Kamala Harris as the first Black woman to join a major party presidential ticket.
Trump countered with sweeping condemnations of pro testers, an absolute defence of law enforcement and denials that Americans with black skin face barriers that whites do not.