The turmoil brought on in Rochester by the discovery of Daniel Prude’s death continues to churn, as Mayor Lovely Warren has fired Police Chief La’Ron Singletary and suspended both the city’s top lawyer and her communications director, Tim Curtin and Justin Roj, without pay for 30 days.
The mayor says she fired Curtin and Roj for “failure to act, inform and follow policy procedure.” She released a more than 300 page report put together by the deputy mayor and said she would take questions later after reporters had time to read it. Basically, she said members of her staff had known about the nature of Daniel Prude’s death but failed to inform her.
13 WHAM news said it learned from a source that the chief learned of his firing on Twitter.
Mark Simmons has been named acting police chief for the next 30 days, which Free the People ROC demonstrators called unacceptable. The referred to a 2005 case in which Simmons shot and wounded a 13-year-old girl who was advancing on him and her sister with a knife. Lashedica Mason survived the shooting. Simmons was interim chief before La’Ron Singletary was appointed and after the departure of Michael Ciminelli.
The mayor said in a news conference that mistakes were made in the handling of Daniel Prude’s death after being restrained by police on Jefferson Avenue. She said she had made mistakes as well and the city will be more transparent going forward.
The mayor said: “This initial look has shown what so many have suspected, that we have a pervasive problem in the Rochester Police Department, one that views everything through the eyes of the badge and not the citizens we serve. It shows that Mr. Prude’s death was not taken as seriously as it should have been by those who reviewed the case throughout City government at every level.”
The mayor announced eight steps to move forward:
1. Direct the City Office of Public Integrity (OPI) to initiate a thorough investigation to determine if any employees – including herself – violated City or Departmental policies or ethical standards. OPI is instructed to refer any and all criminal or civil violations it may find to the appropriate authority, including an independent law enforcement agency. OPI is directed to be as transparent as possible with the public, City Council and the Mayor’s Office as they move forward with this investigation.
2. Request the U.S. Attorney General’s Office to conduct an investigation into possible violations of Mr. Prude’s civil rights and bring appropriate charges if warranted.
3. Engage an outside agency or agencies to review all training manuals, regulations and general orders that govern the conduct of Rochester police officers. This should include a specific review of areas outside the traditional realm of law enforcement, such as the accreditation standards for mental health professionals.
4. Request that the U.S. Department of Justice conduct a thorough review of the Rochester Police Department, including a review of all Body Worn Camera (BWC) footage for use-of-force arrests conducted over the past three years. The findings must be made public.
5. Engage an outside agency to review the City’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) process and possibly other functions, with an objective of greater transparency and openness.
6. Seek formal clarification and written guidance on the release of public information during criminal investigations conducted by the New York State Attorney General’s Office to ensure that City policies are legal and fair while also maintaining complete public confidence that the City is acting in the interest of transparency and in keeping with the pursuit of justice.
7. Enact a policy that the Mayor and Chief of Police will immediately announce to the public all criminal investigations of an RPD officer or arrest that have been initiated – including but not limited to those that are opened by the U.S. Attorney General, the New York State Attorney General’s Office (NYSAG), the Monroe County District Attorney or the RPD Major Crimes Unit.
8. Adopt and embrace a robust process driven by an engaged public to bring systemic reform to the Rochester Police Department, City Hall and beyond to remove the pervasive culture of insularity and acceptance from law enforcement. This work must be coordinated and complement the work of the Commission on Race and Structural Equity.