In a legal document filed this week, former Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary says he lost his job because he refused to lie for the Mayor of Rochester about the Daniel Prude case.
Singletary filed a notice of claim with the City of Rochester, a notice that he intends to sue the city. That document says Mayor Warren asked Singletary to withhold information about Prude’s death from the City Council’s investigation. Singletary says the mayor asked him to provide false information and to leave other material information out in order to support the mayor’s public narrative of when she first learned of what happened to Daniel Prude.
Prude died in March, a week after losing consciousness while being held to the ground by Rochester police officers. He never regained consciousness. His death became public in September, triggering a host of protests and demonstrations.
Singletary said in his notice that he repeatedly refused to lie for Mayor Warren.
The former chief said pressure from the mayor and other city officials created a hostile work environment that prevented him from performing his duties. He announced his retirement effective September 29th, but was summarily fired by the mayor during a press conference on September 14th.
A statement from City Spokeswoman Bridgette Burch White said the City Administration is fully cooperating with the ongoing review by City Council of the Daniel Prude case. It reaffirms that Mayor Warren first saw the police body camera footage of the Prude incident on August 4th, and it calls any suit by Singletary “frivolous.”