Attorneys for suspended cops blame Daniel Prude for his death, defend restraint used

Attorneys representing the seven Rochester police officers suspended with pay following the death of Daniel Prude in March spoke publicly for the first time Thursday morning, saying that the officers had diligently followed protocol and training when they interacted with Prude.

Officers Troy Taladay, Paul Ricotta, Francisco Santiago, Andrew Specksgoor, Josiah Harris and Mark Vaughn, along with Sgt. Michael Magri, were suspended Sept. 3, a day after Prude's death became public.

The circumstances of Prude's death and the subsequent weeks of protests have garnered international attention. 

For an hour at the Rochester Police Locust Club premises, attorneys James Nobles, Daniel Mastrella, Michael Schiano and Matthew Rich outlined their version of what occurred and addressed what they characterized as misconceptions about Prude's interactions with officers on Jefferson Avenue early March 23.

Schiano is representing Santiago, while Nobles is defending Vaughn. Mastrella was hired to represent Taladay. Rich, meanwhile, is legal counsel for Magri, Specksgoor, Ricotta and Harris.

The briefing comes at a time when multiple local and state agencies are working to access the full and complete record of all the events that night.

The attorneys, some of the most high-profile in the city, repeatedly asserted that Prude's use of PCP was the main factor underlying his death, while acknowledging that they did not have full access to all the relevant medical information. Their reiteration of that talking point was clearly intended to de-emphasize the role of individual officers who responded, none of whom are facing criminal changes at this time and remain on full pay.

"The events of March 23 and March 22 had a lot to do with Mr. Prude's voluntary ingestion of PCP which led to his acute intoxication," Rich said. "His death, while tragic, is the result of that acute and voluntary intoxication and not the result of anything the officers did or did not do."

Prude, an unarmed, 41-year-old Black man, died March 30, one week after Rochester police officers pinned him to the pavement while he was handcuffed, naked in the throes of a mental-health episode. 

While the roster of lawyers defended the use of the restraint technique used on Prude, and praised the officers' adherence to their training, the state Department of Criminal and Justice Services said Thursday the method isn't recommended for use on a non-resisting suspect who is already in handcuffs.

"As noted, this curriculum does not train recruits to use any defensive tactics after handcuffing occurs," a DCJS spokesperson wrote in an email. "The curriculum also does not address the use of spit hoods. Use of those items is solely a local agency decision."

The state Attorney General's Office was notified in mid-April after Monroe County's medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, the result of asphyxiation during the 11-minute encounter, and launched an investigation.

The legal team also applied a legalistic interpretation to the county medical examiner's ruling that Prude's death was  a homicide.

"When you read a medical examiner’s report and they list the cause of death, that is a matter of medical opinion," Rich said. "That is not a legal conclusion. So when you see in a medical examiner’s report that the manner of death is homicide, that doesn’t mean that legally that equates to murder."

The lawyers admitted they haven't seen the complete report and are continuing to investigate.

"We are providing a legal conclusion based on the evidence we have," Rich said.

The autopsy found levels of PCP in Prude's blood high enough to cause intoxication, but no evidence has been brought forward publicly about Prude's drug use. Lawyers speculated Thursday that Prude may have used more of the drug between his discharge from Strong Memorial Hospital about 11 p.m. March 22 and the officers' encounter with him on Jefferson Avenue four hours later. Prude's brother, Joe Prude, can be heard speculating about the same thing on police video made when they came to his home the morning of March 23. But none of the police reports made public so far say anything about drugs being found in his discarded clothing or in his belongings at his brother's house, where Daniel Prude was staying.

A number of other assertions made in the presentation remain in dispute or rely on information not known outside the purview of the current investigations.

"As far as the lack of empathy, these individuals, these police officers were simply doing their job in a very stressful situation," Mastrella said.

News of Prude's fatal encounter with police were not revealed to the public until Sept. 2, when members of his family, attorneys and community activists made public body camera footage of the March incident.

The footage showed three officers forcing their body weight onto his head, torso and legs as officers detained Prude on March 23. 

'... did what they were trained to do'

During the news conference, the lawyers shared details about the officers' training — and a training video on the "segmenting" technique officers used to restrain Prude — noting that the men "acted appropriately" and "did what they were trained to do," said Schiano.

Locust Club officials said the video was provided by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services, which provides training materials to local law enforcement agencies. The practice of segmenting was introduced to law enforcement in 2017. It did not originate in Rochester, lawyers said. 

RPD was asked to confirm whether the training is mandated by the state, or was at the discretion of the department but did not respond.

A spokesperson for DCJS said the agency cannot vouch for what RPD teaches its officers. Segmenting, however, is taught to be used "prior to handcuffing."

"The state’s approved defensive tactics training curriculum, which is part of the Basic Course for Police Officers that is required for all municipal police recruits, does not train recruits to use any defensive tactics after handcuffing occurs," according to an email from DCJS. "These tactics are only taught to be used prior to handcuffing."

"We cannot speak to the training that RPD provide its officers on this topic. Any questions about the training provided by RPD need to be directed to the RPD."

The legal team said the suspended officers completed recertification training in defensive tactics, including segmenting, in late January and into February. According to DCJS training materials, "Segmenting is used when the officers do not wish to utilize a leg anchor for situational reasons." 

The training continues, "Segmenting allows both officers to be able to disengage quickly if needed."

But the training video shows two men practicing the techniques and one bending at his waist and applying pressure from that level. While the body-worn camera footage appears to show Vaughn with his legs fully stretched all the way back and with much less control on the pressure he could apply to Prude's head.

If the training is flawed, it must be addressed, Nobles said.

While Prude's death is both tragic and unfortunate, the suspended officers are also being treated unfairly, Schiano argued. They've been threatened, harassed and accused acting inhumanely, he said. Rich said that Specksgoor and Ricotta were not at the scene and are now unjustly suspended.

"These officers are trained specifically when dealing with someone that’s under the influence of PCP, when they cannot control them," Schiano said. "They’re not going to take out a baton, they’re not going to hit person. They are taught to segment, and to put this person (in that position) for his own safety."

He continued, “He’s screaming and yelling that he has coronavirus. He has feces on himself. He’s covered in blood. These officers had to protect themselves also. And that’s what happened that day.”

The lawyers also answered some of the many questions surrounding the case, including why a spit sock was placed over Prude's head and why first responders did not simply cover Prude with a blanket, since he was unclothed and the temperature was in the 30s.

Rich said that PCP can lead to irrational behavior, which is consistent with how Prude was acting before he was restrained by police.

The officers' lawyers defended their clients' failure to provide Prude with a blanket by claiming that Prude was hyperthermic, or overheated, as a consequence of PCP use, and that patrol cars do not routinely carry blankets anyway.

None of the after-action reports that have been made public so far contain assertions that Prude was overheated, however. At the scene, an AMR paramedic who had just arrived asked officers if Prude felt hot, apparently because she thought PCP use had made him so. But Officer Mark Vaughn, who is pushing Prude's head into the pavement, can be heard on video responding "I don't know, it's freezing out here. He's been out naked for 30 minutes. He feels pretty cool. You wanna take his temperature? He says he has corona. Hah."

Prude stops moaning and moving under Vaughn's hands as he says this.

Nobles, who is representing Vaughn, placed a spit sock on his head as he spoke, noting that they are used regularly in hospitals and by law enforcement across the country.

"You can see through it, you can hear through it and you can breathe through it," he said.

Prude was acting erratically, and officers had reason to protect themselves and to protect Prude from injuring himself, Nobles said, and the incident took place early in the coronavirus pandemic.

Prude had reportedly disrobed as he moved through the city, and was covered in blood and feces when approached by police. He'd told a passing driver that he was infected with coronavirus and was reportedly suicidal, Nobles said.

"The last thing they wanted to was go hands on with this individual, but they really didn't have a choice," he said. "The humane thing to do was to get him medical treatment, and that's what they were trying to do."

Protesters arrested outside briefing

A group of protesters from Free The People Roc were arrested Thursday outside the Rochester Police Locust Club on Lexington Avenue, RPD's police union and the location of the news conference. Officers were called to the scene after Locust Club representatives asked the protesters to leave and they did not. 

At least five people were arrested, including group co-founder Ashley Gantt; Mary Adams, a former Rochester City School District board member; and Adams' 14 year-old daughter, Sarah. Current RCSD board member Ricardo Adams, the husband of Mary and father of Sarah, was arrested a short time later when he arrived at the Locust Club building.

Protesters issued a list of demands, which includes the firing and prosecution of the suspended officers, the resignation of Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren and other elected officials, and the passage of Daniel's Law, which would require trained mental-health professionals respond to calls and not the police.

There are currently four ongoing investigations into the incident — one being conducted by the state Attorney General's Office is looking into potential of criminal charges against the suspended officers. There is an independent investigation authorized by Rochester City Council, a third ordered by Warren from the city's Office of Public Integrity, and then a fourth is an internal investigation by the Rochester Police Department.

The legal team said the suspended officers have not yet spoken with the state Attorney General's Office.

Contact Will Cleveland at wcleveland@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @willcleveland13, Facebook @willcleveland13, and Instagram @clevelandroc. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.

Includes reporting by Steve Orr.