US: Black Man Asphyxiated To Death By Police In New York

A Black man who ran naked on the streets of a western New York city was asphyxiated to death by the police. The officers put a hood over his head, then pressed his face into the pavement for two minutes.

Footage of the incident has surfaced on social media causing outrage among many Americans

On March 30, seven days after the encounter with police in Rochester, Daniel Prude died after being taken off life support. His death received public attention only on Wednesday, August 2, after his family held a news conference and released police body camera video. They also released written reports they obtained through a public records request, Hindustan Times reported.

"How did you see him and not directly say, 'The man is defenceless, buck naked on the ground. He's cuffed up already. Come on.' How many more brothers gotta die for society to understand that this needs to stop?" Prude's brother, Joe Prude, asked at a news conference.

As per a medical examiner, Prude's death was a homicide caused by "complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint." The report further said that contributing factors include excited delirium and acute intoxication by phencyclidine, or PCP.

Prude, who was from Chicago, had arrived in Rochester to visit his family. His brother Joe Prude has called 911 to report that his brother had left his house and that he was suffering from mental health issues.

State Attorney General Letitia James' office began its own investigation in April. On Wednesday, protestors gathered outside Rochester's Public Safety Building, which serves as police headquarters. Investigation in the matter is underway.

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