protests

The decision by a grand jury not to indict Rochester Police officers involved in the incident last March that eventually led to the death of Daniel Prude brought hundreds of protesters to different parts of the city on Tuesday night.

It started with speeches by activists and a gathering on Jefferson Avenue, where so many other protests started out last year. Jefferson Avenue is where Prude was pinned to the pavement by police after they responded to the reports of a man acting erratically. Prude suffocated after being held down by officers, and he died a week later.

Ask the Rev. Myra Brown, the pastor at Spiritus Christi Church in Rochester, where the roots of her faith first took hold, and she’ll tell you the story of the teacher, the mother, and the paddle.

A few dozen protesters marched to the office of Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley in downtown Rochester on Thursday, demanding both her resignation and that charges against protesters arrested in previous demonstrations be either dropped or reduced.

Organized by Free the People Roc, about 30 people marched from City Hall to the District Attorney’s Office on Fitzhugh Street. The demonstration was peaceful from both the side of protesters and police, and no arrests were made.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP)  A Rochester man previously arrested during a protest over Daniel Prude's death is now accused by federal prosecutors of posting incendiary messages and instructions to make a Molotov cocktail.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in western New York on Friday charged Ryan Howe of Rochester with intending to incite a riot by making provocative Facebook posts earlier this week. The posts came after a grand jury in Louisville declined to charge police officers in the killing of Breonna Taylor.

The Rochester Police Department racked up nearly $1.4 million in overtime hours preparing for and responding to demonstrations related to the city’s handling of the death of Daniel Prude over the last four weeks.

That figure was presented by the Police Department to members of City Council on Monday and represented RPD overtime pay during the four-week span of Aug. 31 and Sept. 27.

During a visit to Rochester’s Aenon Baptist Church on Sunday, New York State Attorney General Letitia James said her office will announce when it is investigating deaths of unarmed individuals after encounters with law enforcement. She also said her office will release police body camera footage of these incidents as soon as possible.

“I commit that we will notify the public,” said James, "when we arrive at a decision, to assert our jurisdiction in investigations of police officers involved deaths of unarmed civilians, to avoid the situation that occured here in Rochester.”