(TargetLiberty.org) – Taxpayers in Rochester, NY, are facing a $1.4-million bill for September, thanks to unrest over the death of Daniel Prude. Although Prude died back in March, his death is still being used to justify Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests – and the city’s luckless residents are footing the bill.
Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old black man, was detained by Rochester Police Department on March 23 after witnesses reported him walking the streets naked and behaving bizarrely. While officers tried to restrain him he began spitting at them and had to be hooded; he was hospitalized and eventually stopped breathing. His life support was turned off on March 30.
The autopsy showed Prude was high on PCP when he was detained, and this contributed to his death. Video footage of the incident was released on September 2 and there have been protests, usually turning violent, every day since.
The Rochester Police Department racked up nearly $1.4 million in overtime hours preparing for and responding to demonstrations related to the city’s handling of the death of Daniel Prude over the last four weeks. @GinoFanelli of @roccitynews reports:https://t.co/o2hBSKj571
— WXXI News (@WXXINews) September 23, 2020
Talking to the city council Monday, cops said that BLM protests this year have cost them just short of $2 million in extra overtime since May – and three-quarters of that has been spent in September. Councilmember Jose Peo said, “It’s an unfortunate expense that we have to pay. This money could have been used in a much better way had we not had the protests continually going.” Even more, there’s no sign of the protests stopping, so taxpayers are likely to see policing costs grossly inflated this year.
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