A subdued crowd of just over 100 or so people gathered at MLK Park in downtown Rochester Wednesday night to remember Daniel Prude on the second anniversary of his death.
Prude was 41 when he suffered a mental health crisis and died after being restrained by police.
His brother Joe Prude spoke to the crowd at the park, as they lit candles and talked about his brother in front of a mural of Daniel Prude.
Joe Prude speaks about the death of his brother Daniel Prude while in RPD custody in 2020 and the aftermath @WXXINews @GinoFanelli pic.twitter.com/C7Wy3BluAU
— Max Schulte (@maxrocphoto) March 24, 2022
“You know this has been a rough two years, but I know, and just like I know you all know, the fight ain’t over,” Prude said. “Everybody still thought it was a lost cause, but it’s not, it’s not, it’s going to take time.”
Prude called for changes in how similar incidents are handled in the future, as did Halima Aweis, an organizer with Free the People Roc.
“And to be in this space again is just so powerful,” Aweis said. “To be in this space two years after Daniel Prude was murdered, still chanting his name, is powerful and I’m so blessed and so glad we could do that with you all today. It has been a long two years, it’s been exhausting, the fight has not stopped, the fight will not stop.”
Aweis called for Rochester to better allocate community resources to help people with the kinds of problems that affected Daniel Prude, and both she and Joe Prude talked about the need to get the state to pass Daniel’s Law, which would require that health professionals, not law enforcement, respond first to those types of mental health crises.
A grand jury cleared the seven Rochester Police officers involved in Prude’s apprehension of criminal charges. One of them faced potential discipline after an internal investigation by the police department.
