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Daniel Prude: Who was the jury? NY cops not charged for killing naked unarmed Black man with spit hood

Daniel Prude was naked when he was restrained with handcuffs and had his head covered with 'spit hood' when he was pinned down by cops for two minutes and 15 seconds

ROCHESTER, NEW YORK: Despite the outrage over the killing of a Black man, Daniel Prude, the New York jury isn't charging the Rochester police officers involved in his death. Prude was naked when he was restrained with handcuffs and the officers reportedly covered his face with a 'spit hood' when he began spitting and held him face down on the pavement for two minutes and 15 seconds. Prude received CPR on the scene, but later died of complications from asphyxia.

In the press conference announcing the decision of the grand jury on Tuesday, February 23, New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed that the cops in question will not face any charges. Relatives of Prude shared a police video last year of the encounter, claiming the cops used "excessive force" to handle him. Prude is said to have had a mental episode after PCP at a party. He was spotted by the police walking naked on the streets. The autopsy result released by the family from Monroe County Medical Examiner Nadia Granger states that Prude died of "complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint".

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Member of the Democratic Party and the current Attorney General of New York Letitia James served as the jury on Prude's trial. She became the first African-American and the first woman to be elected to the position after winning the 2018 election against Barbara Underwood. She was raised in Brooklyn and obtained her Juris Doctorate degree from Howard University. She served as a public defender, then worked as a staff in the New York State Assembly and later became an Assistant Attorney General. 

Soon after the jury's verdict on Prude was announced, James took to Twitter to share her opinion on the trial in a series of tweets. She has noted "Prude family, the Rochester community, and communities across the country will rightfully be devastated" with the verdict and blamed the system for "failing" him utterly. She wrote in one tweet, "A grand jury has voted not to indict any police officer on charges related to the death of Daniel Prude. My office concluded there was sufficient evidence surrounding Mr. Prude’s death to present the case to a grand jury, and we presented the most comprehensive case possible."

In another tweet she spoke about the need for reform in the Rochester Police Department. The tweet read, "Daniel Prude was in the throes of a mental health crisis, and what he needed was compassion, care, and help from trained professionals. Serious reform is needed in the Rochester Police Department and our criminal justice system as a whole."

The jury's verdict on Prude's killing sparks fury

The AG blamed the law and system for unjustly killing Prude, but the public isn't willing to accept yet another instance where police officers are forgiven for killing a person of color. A large number of Twitter users have expressed their anger on the platform following Prude's jury trial. 

One tweeted, "We DON'T have to respect this horrible decision, and I'm taken aback by your request that we just shrug our shoulders and blame the laws instead of the people who murdered that young man. The "current laws" didn't kill that man. Specific people did. Hell should be raised." Another added, "Damn Ms. James how much more do we have to take? How much more can we endure this? It’s not just blacks either. We really need some solution. We’re tired of seeing You Tube vids and Police Body cam that clearly show police in the wrong and nothing is done." Another agitated user added, "I'm not a NY resident....but NO we do NOT have to respect that decision. They KILLED him. Like many other departments (like Buffalo), does Rochester make a habit of employing and empowering murderers?"