Letter to Mayor Lovely Warren on Police Violence and Crisis Response

The NYCLU wrote a letter to Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren calling on her to take urgent action to address the policing of protestors, responses to residents in mental health crisis, and transparency on police-involved deaths.

Following the release of information about the death of Daniel Prude at the hands of police, grave concerns about a number of matters related to the Rochester Police Department (RPD) have emerged. Specifically, we have witnessed the RPD wield unwarranted aggression and abusive tactics toward residents peacefully protesting Mr. Prude’s murder and calling for reform. We have learned from Mr. Prude’s death that the RPD can no longer respond to residents in behavioral health crisis, and that the city must immediately create safe alternatives.

To address these concerns, we call on the mayor and her administration to take urgent action to fix policing in Rochester.