Police Officers Not Charged for Daniel Prude Death

A New York grand jury voted not to charge seven police officers suspended over the death of Daniel Prude, state Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday. Body camera footage of the officers placing a mesh hood over Prude’s head and pinning him to the ground sparked protests in Rochester, NY in September 2020. Prude died in March 2020; his autopsy lists his manner of death as “homicide” and his cause of death as “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint,” excited delirium and acute phencyclidine (PCP) intoxication. The story was featured more prominently in left- and center-rated outlets. Coverage in some right-rated outlets included descriptions of disruption during the September protests. Coverage in left-rated outlets and some right-rated outlets described PCP intoxication as a "contributing factor" in Prude's death rather than a direct cause.