City of Rochester to pay $12m settlement over death of Daniel Prude during police restraint

‘It would have cost taxpayers even more to litigate, and would have placed a painful toll on our community,’ Mayor Malik Evans says

The city of Rochester in upstate New York has agreed to pay $12m to the children of Daniel Prude, a Black man who died in police custody in 2020.

Mr Prude died in March of that year after officers held him down until he was no longer breathing after they found him running down the streets naked in the snow, according to the Associated Press.

The settlement was greenlit by a federal judge, a court document filed on Thursday revealed.

The mayor of Rochester, Democrat Malik Evans, issued a statement saying that it was “the best decision” possible for the city.

“It would have cost taxpayers even more to litigate, and would have placed a painful toll on our community,” he said.

Having entered office in January of this year, Mr Evans wasn’t mayor at the time of Mr Prude’s death.

Lawyers noted that Mr Prude’s five children will receive the funds following payment of legal costs.

Armin Prude, left, and Joe Prude hold an enlarged photo of Daniel Prude, who died following a police encounter, in Rochester, New York (AP)

Attorney Matthew Piers represents the estate administrator.

“I think that it’s an amount of money that is sufficient to show that the City of Rochester recognizes that something very bad happened and that it’s very important for the city to put it in the rearview mirror and move forward,” he said, according to the AP.

The encounter between Mr Prude and law enforcement took place after his brother made a call to request mental health assistance.

Mr Prude had undergone a psychiatric evaluation at a hospital previously that same night but had been released after several hours. He later ran from the home of his brother.

Police footage revealed that Mr Prude followed officers’ commands as he got on the ground and put his hands behind his back. When he sat on the side of the road, handcuffed, he became frustrated.

Police placed a hood over his head to prevent Mr Prude from spitting. He was held down for around two minutes at which point he stopped breathing.

Mr Prude passed away a number of days later after he had been taken off life support.

According to the county medical examiner, the death was a homicide by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint”.

The drug PCP was reported to be a factor in Mr Prude’s passing.

The officers argued that they acted according to their training and a grand jury chose not to bring criminal charges against them last year.

At the time, New York Attorney General Letitia James said that the “strongest case possible” was shared with the jury, according to NBC News.

Attorneys representing relatives of Mr Prude have argued that his constitutional rights were violated. Allegations of a cover-up against the police and the city were also levelled.

Emails released show that in June of 2020, police commanders told city staffers to delay releasing video footage to the public as they were concerned about a violent reaction if it was released during the protests across the US prompted by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the AP noted.

After obtaining the footage, the family of Mr Prude shared it with the public in September 2020.

Seven police officers were suspended with pay, with one being served with departmental charges after an internal investigation was conducted, NBC News reported.