-------------- UPDATE: 3/10/2021 --------------

On Wednesday, March 10, Rochester Police murdered another Black man experiencing a mental health crisis. Police shot and killed Tyshon Jones outside of the Open Door Mission in Rochester. 

Tyshon Jones should still be alive. Until the RPD’s pattern of brutality and racism is addressed and confronted, Black Rochesterians are not safe from terror. Add your name now to demand a DOJ investigation into Rochester Police. 

-------------- UPDATE: 3/5/2021 --------------

Rochester Police continue to terrorize Black people and endanger Black lives. On March 5, the city's Police Accountability Board released new footage showing police pepper-spraying a Black woman and 3-year-old child. RPD is the same police force that murdered Daniel Prude last year and maced a 9-year-old child just a few weeks ago. Two officers who were involved in that incident were also involved in this most recent example of anti-Black police brutality. 

Add your name now to demand a Dept. of Justice investigation into RPD's pattern and practice of civil rights violations and violence. 

Until the Rochester Police Department’s pattern of brutality and racism is revealed — and Rochester leaders hear activists’ demands to prioritize public safety initiatives that protect Black lives — Black Rochesterians are not safe.

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Daniel Prude needed care and should be alive. Instead, he was murdered at the hands of Rochester Police last year — and on Tuesday, February 23, those officers walked away with no criminal charges.

We are outraged, but we will not stop fighting for justice. The fact is, this was not a one-off tragedy. The Rochester Police Department has a history of brutality and racist violence. The same police force that got away with killing Daniel Prude last year is the police department that handcuffed and maced a 9-year-old girl in January — 10 months after Daniel’s murder. 

For the community to heal and to build a safer city for Black people in Rochester, the Rochester Police must be held accountable. 

That’s why we’re calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to immediately investigate the entire Rochester Police Department for civil rights violations, as well as a pattern and practice of inappropriate use of force, particularly targeting Black people. Add your name now.

Police brutality is a systemic issue. To end this state-sanctioned war on Black people, we need systemic change — a roadmap away from policing that threatens Black lives. A DOJ investigation with a community safety action plan for Rochester is an important step in the right direction. 

Add your name now: New York has failed to deliver justice for Daniel Prude and Black people in Rochester. Demand the Department of Justice step in and investigate RPD immediately.

For months, activists in Rochester have been demanding justice for Daniel Prude and structural changes to policing in their city. More than 100,000 Color Of Change members joined organizers to demand accountability last year, and Rochester took notice. The city’s police chief and deputy police chief were fired, and the city began the process of establishing a new “crisis intervention unit.” This unit would be a non-law enforcement response to calls involving domestic violence and mental health crises, like the one Daniel Prude was experiencing.

But our demands to charge the officers involved in Daniel Prude’s death and ban the use of chemical weapons (including pepper spray) have been ignored. The city’s failure to take bold action after Prude’s murder led to a nine-year-old girl being handcuffed and pepper-sprayed.

Black people in Rochester — whether they’re a child or an elder, experiencing a health crisis or simply walking down the street — are not safe. And Rochester officials can no longer defend a system that fails to deliver justice for victims of police brutality.

We demand safety, and we demand action. Sign our petition to demand an immediate DOJ investigation into the Rochester Police Department, and an action plan to protect and defend Black lives in Rochester.  

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The details of Daniel Prude’s tragic death make the lack of charges even more upsetting. 

Here’s what we knew: Last March, in response to a mental health call, Rochester Police murdered Daniel Prude in the street. Records showed the police sought to conceal the circumstances of his death. They did not release bodycam footage of RPD officers placing a hood over Daniel’s head and shoving him into the ground until he stopped breathing. They used delay tactics to prevent Daniel’s family and lawyer from learning what happened on that cold, snowy night. The police even attempted to “make [Prude] a suspect” in his own videotaped murder.  

Here’s what we learned on Tuesday, February 23: The officers involved in Prude’s murder will face no charges. The police force that did everything possible to cover up Daniel Prude’s murder has been enabled to continue targeting Black people, including inflicting violence on Black children. Unless we demand action, the Rochester Police Department will continue to threaten Black lives.

Until RPD’s history of brutality and racism is exposed — and Rochester leaders hear activists’ demands to prioritize public safety initiatives that protect Black lives — Black Rochesterians are not safe.

Sign the petition: Demand an investigation into RPD and a new path forward for Rochester now. 

Here is the Petition:

I'm standing with Color Of Change to demand justice for Daniel Prude and the people of Rochester, NY. I'm calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to immediately investigate the entire Rochester Police Department (RPD) for civil rights violations, as well as a pattern and practice of inappropriate use of force, particularly targeting Black people.

Last March, in response to a mental health call, Rochester Police murdered Daniel Prude in the street. Records showed the police sought to conceal the circumstances of his death and used delay tactics to prevent Daniel’s family and lawyer from learning what happened. The police even attempted to “make [Prude] a suspect” in his own videotaped murder.  In recent weeks, RPD bodycam footage showed police officers macing a 9-year-old girl, tackling and pepper-spraying a Black woman and her three-year-old child, and murdering Tyshon Jones — another Black man experiencing a mental health crisis. 

Beyond President Biden’s promise to address the “unbearable human costs of systemic racism,” the new administration has also vowed to rebuild the Department of Justice with a greater emphasis on racial justice and civil rights. That vision must include investigations into systemic racism in policing, and court-monitored consent decrees to end anti-Black violence inflicted by local police departments like RPD.

Until Rochester Police Department’s pattern of brutality and racism is revealed — and Rochester leaders hear activists’ demands to prioritize public safety initiatives that protect Black lives — Black Rochesterians are not safe.

Standing with Color Of Change, I will continue demanding justice for Daniel Prude and Black people in Rochester. Open a Dept. of Justice pattern-or-practice investigation now.