We all know that George Floyd was not the first or the last person to die at the hands of police officers. Just a few short months before George Floyd’s death, in March 2020, a 41-year-old man named Daniel Prude also died at the hands of the police.

According to USA Today On March 23, 2020, Prude called the Rochester Police Department for help for his brother, who was experiencing some sort of mental crisis.

Body camera video and police reports were released today and activists converged on the headquarters of the Rochester Police Department. The victim’s brother, Mr. Joe Prude, spoke. He said, “ I placed a call for my brother to get help, not for my brother to get lynched. When I say get lynched, that was full fledge murder cold-blooded - nothing other than cold-blooded murder.“

A local activist, Ashley Grant, expressed her outrage and said, “Rochester Police was called and that response leads to this murder. The police have shown us time and time again that they cannot address the mental health crises.”

Prude was in the custody of the police. He was handcuffed, lying on his back, unarmed, naked, and defenseless. At some point during the interaction, a police officer placed a plastic bag over Mr. Prude’s head and within minutes he was unconscious. The entire confrontation only lasted 11 minutes and he died in the hospital several days later.

An autopsy determined that Mr. Prude died of Complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint. The coroner determined that the manner of death was a homicide.

This was an extremely unfortunate incident.  His family members are correct in demanding justice especially after Daniel Prude's death was ruled a homicide. Activists and community members throughout the country ask the same question, how many people must die before we get this right?

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