Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump Joins Antonio M. Romanucci In Representing Children Of Daniel Prude
Romanucci & Blandin, LLC and Ben Crump Law are pleased to announce that renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump is joining the legal team representing the children of Daniel Prude, who died at the hands of Rochester, New York police. On March 23, 2020, Daniel was having a mental health episode, in which he was naked and disoriented. Video shows police hooded Daniel, handcuffed him, subdued him and leaned on his body with their weight him while he was on the ground, so that forces from above and below him were killing him. Indeed, the coroner concluded he died as a result of homicide.
A civil lawsuit filing on this case is imminent.
“The City of Rochester needs to take full responsibility for not only the action of those officers on March 23, 2020, who killed Daniel Prude under the color of law, but also for the cover-up that followed. We call for full transparency on all facts in this case,” said Attorney Ben Crump of Ben Crump Law. “The use of spit hoods needs to be extremely limited or banned by officers across the country. While the use of those hoods is an approved police tactic and should be used in certain circumstances, officers need to closely monitor people extremely closely once the hood is placed on their heads, and remove it if a person is in distress. Daniel Prude, for example, vomited inside the hood and we believe not removing that hood may have contributed to his physical distress and his death since it did not allow the officers to be able to see inside the hood and monitor his deteriorating condition.”
“We are honored to have Ben Crump’s voice in this conversation on behalf of Daniel Prude’s children,” said Antonio M. Romanucci, Founding Partner of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC. “Together we are committed to delivering justice for the Prude family and creating meaningful reform in this critical case and others, including our collaboration on the civil representation of the George Floyd family.”
The Prude children’s legal team also includes Mark Vajdik of the Law Offices of Mark Vajdik, Frank Ciardi of The Law Office of Frank Ciardi, and David Stern of Elliott Stern Calabrese.
“While it is very concerning that it took nearly six months, we are pleased to see a Grand Jury will now address the incident that took Daniel Prude’s life in March of 2020. As you can see from the bodycam footage, Mr. Prude was clearly in an episode of emotional distress and needed human compassion and medical attention. Instead, his family’s call for help turned into a death sentence,” said Crump.
“Police officers in Rochester and across the country clearly need far more training in the use of de-escalation tactics and the use of prone restraints. As we’ve seen over and over in recent months, this policing technique can and does turn deadly, at a time when arrestees are compliant and pose no threat to officers. Our citizens deserve better and we ask that federal legislation limit or eliminate the use of prone restraints in the coming weeks,” said Romanucci.
“The children of Daniel Prude are grateful for the national outpouring of compassion and frustration that has followed the release of the videotape. The footage of his horrific and humiliating death has evoked strong feelings in many people, who have rightfully expressed their extreme frustration using their First Amendment rights. The family urges any demonstrators to honor Mr. Prude’s life by being respectful of people’s lives and property as they raise their voices in a call for justice for Daniel,” said Crump.
“Mr. Prude was a loving father and had 5 children. They adored his sense of humor and were grateful for his fatherly advice. They are deeply grieving his loss, are trying to process everything they have seen in the horrific video, and are troubled that for many people, that is the only thing they will know about their father. They want the world to know that they loved him and their lives are forever scarred by his loss,” said Romanucci.
A link to the September 3, 2020 press conference can be found here.
About Ben Crump Law
Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump and his national network of specialized attorneys have spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more, visit BenCrump.com or call (800) 935-8111.
About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC
Romanucci & Blandin is a Chicago-based national trial practice committed to fighting for victims of negligence, abuse and wrongful death arising from police misconduct, corporate negligence, civil rights actions, medical malpractice, mass torts and class actions. Founded in 1998, the firm is widely recognized for representing plaintiffs in numerous practice areas including: workers’ compensation, pharmaceuticals, civil rights, police misconduct, excessive force, aviation, product liability and premises liability. For more information, please visit www.rblaw.net or call (312) 458-1000.
