On Tuesday, President Trump went after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Rochester, New York, Mayor Lovely Warren — both Democrats — for having “no idea what to do” in the wake of the abrupt resignation of Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary and the entire command staff of the Rochester Police Department earlier that day.
President Trump called out Cuomo and Warren in a tweet:
Police Chief, and most of the police in Rochester, N.Y., have resigned. The Democrat Mayor and, of courses, Governor Cuomo, have no idea what to do. New York State is a mess – No Money, High Taxes & Crime, Everyone Fleeing. November 3rd. We can fix it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2020
The chief and the other officers resigned amid leftist outrage and violence over the death of Daniel Prude in March after officers used a “spit hood” on Prude after he said he suffered from COVID-19. Body cam footage of the incident was released on Wednesday, September 2, by Prude family attorneys as they prepare for civil lawsuit against the City of Rochester.
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Prude’s family called the police because of his unruly behavior. Prude, who was mentally ill, was found naked when police arrived. After Prude failed to cooperate with police, they held him down until they noticed that Prude had vomited in his hood. After removing the spit hood, officers found Prude non-responsive and administered CPR. He died a week later.
“The members of the Rochester Police Department and the Greater Rochester Community know my reputation and what I stand for,” Singletary, a 20-year veteran of the force, said in a statement. “Outside entities attempt to destroy my character. The mischaracterization and the politicization of the actions that I took after being informed of Mr. Prude’s death is not based on facts, and is not what I stand for.”
The release of the footage provided yet another excuse for unhinged leftists to riot in the city. For seven days straight, violent Black Lives Matter mobs have terrorized the city, harassing restaurant patrons, setting off commercial grade fireworks in the middle of the city, and injuring several police officers.
Mayor Warren seemed to prove President Trump’s assertion that she has “no idea” what to do by saying on Tuesday, “I can assure this community that I am committed to institutional reforms necessary in our police department. I know that there are many questions, but this just occurred and honestly I do not have all the answers today.”
Cuomo has called the body cam footage “horrific” and encouraged New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into the case.
“I think one of the questions we have to find out is how was this first handled by the police department to suggest that it was basically a health issue and was not a death caused by the actions of police officers — which, by the way, is going to be an ongoing discussion,” Cuomo said on Tuesday. “The police are going to say basically what they said. ‘It wasn’t us. He was under the influence of drugs, he had on the spitting hood, which was normal procedure, and it wasn’t because of the police action.’ The video did bring new light to the case.”
New York’s problems go far beyond the current unrest in Rochester. Cuomo’s decision to house coronavirus patients in nursing homes alongside high-risk elderly residents may have cost thousands of lives. Wealthy residents have been leaving the state in droves due to COVID-19 and high taxes — possibly never to return. Both New York City and the State of New York face budget shortfalls and pension crises. New York City has seen an increase in violent crime, with shootings up 76 percent from January to August and homicides up 31 percent over the same time period.
So, maybe the president is right. Perhaps the Democrats in New York really don’t have any idea what to do.
Photo: AP Images
James Murphy is a freelance journalist who writes on a variety of subjects. He can be reached at [email protected].
