WHECTV
Created: March 12, 2021 11:30 AM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — An attorney hired to independently investigate the City of Rochester's handling of the Daniel Prude case concluded Friday the city "suppressed" information from getting to the public and made "untrue statements."
Andrew Celli, who was hired by City Council, released that conclusion as part of an 84-page report which detailed his firm's findings through its roughly six-month investigation. In it, Celli concludes, in part:
"In the final analysis, the decision not to publicly disclose these facts rested with Mayor Warren, as the elected Mayor of the City of Rochester. But Mayor Warren alone is not responsible for the suppression of the circumstances of the Prude Arrest and Mr. Prude’s death. In his internal communications with the Mayor, the Law Department, and the Communications Bureau in April 2020, Chief Singletary disclosed but consistently deemphasized the role of police restraints in the death of Daniel Prude, and his statements did not capture the disturbing tenor of the entire encounter. Chief Singletary’s characterization of the Prude Arrest likely impacted how the City officials he informed of the matter viewed what had occurred."