The family of Daniel Prude is filing a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Rochester.
Prude died on March 30, one week after he was arrested by Rochester police officers who held him to the ground with a knee to his back as he was experiencing a mental health crisis.
The Monroe County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by "asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint."
Attorney Elliot Shields is representing the Prude family. He said an ongoing criminal investigation by the New York State Attorney General's office does not preclude the city of Rochester from conducting its own investigation, firing the officers who were at the scene of Prude's arrest, or placing them on desk duty.
"That's one of the things my clients are most upset about, that these officers are still on the streets interacting with the public," Shields said. "I think that should outrage everybody in the city of Rochester. They should not be out there making arrests and interacting with individuals every day."
Click on the LISTEN link above to hear an interview with Shields.
