'New York state is a mess': Trump blasts Gov. Cuomo and the Rochester mayor for having 'no idea what to do' after the city's police chief and his command quit over backlash to Daniel Prude's death
President Donald Trump took too Twitter to blast the Democratic leadership in New York and Rochester after the city's police chief resigned over criticism the department faced over the suffocation death of a black man.
Trump tweeted from Air Force One as he headed to North Carolina for a rally, lambasting Dem leaders for the mass exodus following COVID-19's disastrous impact on the state.
'Police Chief, and most of the police in Rochester, N.Y., have resigned,' Trump said on Tuesday evening.
'The Democrat Mayor and, of courses, Governor Cuomo, have no idea what to do. New York State is a mess - No Money, High Taxes & Crime, Everyone Fleeing. November 3rd. We can fix it!'
President Donald Trump took to Twitter to slam Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Democratic leadership in Rochester, New York
Rochester Police chief La'Ron Singletary and his Deputy Chief Joseph M. Morabito are among those who have retired amid criticism of the city's handling of the suffocation death of Daniel Prude
Rochester police chief La'Ron Singletary, his Deputy Chief Joseph M. Morabito and Chief of Administration Mark L. Simmons are among those who have retired.
The shock resignations were announced by Mayor Lovely Warren at a virtual city council briefing on Tuesday. Council members had been expecting the chief to appear in person to discuss ongoing protests over Prude's death.
Singletary has been facing calls to resign ever since details emerged last week of Prude's death several days after his encounter with police on March 23.
Rochester, a city of 200,000 people on Lake Ontario, erupted with protests last week after the Prude family released body camera footage from the arrest.
It showed police putting a hood over the 41-year-old black man's head and pinning him to the pavement to restrain him.
Rochester Police Department's Deputy Chief Joseph M. Morabito (left) and Chief of Administration Mark L. Simmons (right) have also retired
The police chief, who as recently as Sunday said he planned to stay on, said in a statement that event over the past week were an attempt to destroy his 'character and integrity'.
'As a man of integrity, I will not sit idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character,' he said.
'The members of the Rochester Police Department and the Greater Rochester Community know my reputation and know what I stand for.
'The mischaracterization and the politicization of the actions that I took after being informed of Mr Prude's death is not based on facts, and is not what I stand for. '
Singletary, who spent his entire career inside the Rochester Police Department, was appointed chief in April 2019.
He said he looks forward to 'continuing to serve our community in my next chapter.'
There have been nightly protests ever since details of Prude's death emerged last week.
Officers who found Prude running naked down the street had put a hood over his head to stop him from spitting, then held him down for about two minutes until he stopped breathing.
Prude, a 41-year-old black man, died several days after an encounter with police on March 23. His death sparked outrage after his relatives last week released police body camera video showing police putting a hood over his head to stop him from spitting and then holding him down for about two minutes until he stopped breathing
There have been nightly protests ever since details of Prude's death emerged last week. The 41-year-old black man is pictured above
He died a week later after he was taken off life support.
His brother, Joe Prude, had called 911 seeking help for Daniel Prude's unusual behavior. He had been taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation earlier that night but was released after a few hours, his brother told officers.
The outrage over his death started after his relatives released the bodycam footage and written reports they obtained through a public records request.
Seven police officers were suspended a day later and state Attorney General Letitia James said on Saturday that she would form a grand jury and conduct an 'exhaustive investigation' into Prude's death.
Police union officials have said the officers were following their training.
The release of the footage five months after Prude's death had raised questions of a cover-up and turned Rochester into the latest flashpoint in a summer of protests over racial injustice first sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd.
Warren said she didn't know when the retirements would take effect.
Mayor Lovely Warren said on Tuesday that the mass departure could include other senior commanders as well. Warren made the surprise announcement of the retirements at a City Council briefing held online (pictured above)
It was unclear who would be in charge of police on Tuesday night if demonstrators come out for a sixth straight night, as expected.
'If that retirement is effective immediately, then we will have to find an interim chief,' Warren said.
'I do know that it is going to be difficult to do that.'
Demonstrators have been calling for the resignations of both Singletary and Warren, who are both black.
Iman Abid, of the Free the People ROC - the group behind the nightly protests, said the mass retirements from the police department was 'great news'.
'It says to the people that people are able to move things and to shape things. The police chief wouldn't retire if it weren't for something that he felt he was accountable to,' she said.
She said, however, that nightly protests will continue to push other demands, including the resignation of the mayor, defunding and demilitarizing of police, and development of a state law barring police departments from responding to mental health crises.
Protesters march for the sixth consecutive night of protest on Monday night in the wake of Prude's death
Rochester police officers march towards demonstrators as they aim their weapons on Saturday night
Demonstrators use umbrellas as shields from teargas and pepper balls on Saturday night
'New York state is a mess': Trump blasts Gov. Cuomo and the Rochester mayor for having 'no idea what to do' after the city's police chief and his command quit over backlash to Daniel Prude's death
!['New York state is a mess': Trump blasts Gov. Cuomo and the Rochester mayor for having 'no idea what to do' after the city's police chief and his command quit over backlash to Daniel Prude's death]()
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September 09, 2020
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