Albany Man Charged With Slicing Tires During Rochester Protest

Earlier this month the city of Rochester erupted in protests over the death of Daniel Prude while in police custody.  Most of the protests were peaceful, but there were incidents of violence and destruction of property.

On September 6, there were more than 1000 protesters and some accused the police of excessive force with rubber bullets and teargas.

Although protesters are accusing the police of unnecessary aggression, the police are accusing protesters of the same thing.  Members of the Rochester Police Department’s Arson Task Force responded to an arson fire at 400 State Street that night.  A U-Haul truck had been set on fire and the police department was investigating.

According to Rochester First, During their investigation, they encountered and arrested 26-year old Daniel H. Prouty of Albany.  Mr. Prouty was questioned and eventually arrested for arson that night.  Interestingly, Mr. Prouty had a body camera in his possession at the time of his arrest on September 6.  Police examined the footage on the camera and eventually exonerated him of the arson charge.

Somehow Mr. Prouty had recorded himself committing a totally different crime that night. Surprisingly, Mr. Prouty was recorded slashing the tires of police vehicles.  Officers observed Mr. Prouty slashing the tires of 10 vehicles that belonged to the Monroe County Sheriff’s patrol vehicles.

Daniel Prouty was charged with Criminal Mischief in the second-degree which is a class D Felony.

The protesters who came out that night were mainly there for a just cause, Daniel Prude deserves justice.  His death should not be minimized or trivialized by unnecessary violence.

Daniel Prouty will have a hard time proving his innocence in this case.  Somehow he has provided all the evidence the police needed to charge him and probably convict him of a senseless crime.