Demonstrators protest death of Black man restrained by N.Y. police using a hood
03 September 2020
Dozens of demonstrators in Rochester, New York, were protesting into the night Wednesday over the death of a Black man who died after police put a "hood over his head," per the New York Times.
Driving the news: New York Attorney General Letitia James announced her office was investigating the March 30 deathof Daniel Prude. His life support was switched off seven days after the Rochester incident during which his face was pushed into the pavement for two minutes, per the NYT. Officers detained him after his brother called to say he was having a "mental health issue," per CBS.
Protestors have shut down corner of Jefferson and Dr. McCree Way @News_8pic.twitter.com/92EvgXTBFr
— Christian Garzone (@ccjgarzone) September 2, 2020
- The Chicago man's autopsy ruled his death a homicide, arising from "complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint," Rochester First notes. Rochester Police Chief La'ron Singletary said.
- What they're saying: Per ABC7, Rochester Police Chief La'ron Singletary said: "We do take this investigation seriously from day one. That morning I ordered a criminal investigation."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.