Senator Samra Brouk’s Statement in Response to Daniel Prude Grand Jury Announcement

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2021

Media contact:
Jenna McDavid, Communications Manager
‪(585) 210-3343
mcdavid@nysenate.gov

Rochester, NY - Today, New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced that the grand jury empaneled to review the death of Daniel Prude in police custody has returned no indictments for the law enforcement officers involved in Daniel’s arrest.

Senator Samra Brouk, SD-55, shares the following statement in response: “Daniel Prude’s family and the Rochester community are hurt, anguished, and angry, and today’s grand jury announcement does little to heal or absolve the deep wounds that we are experiencing as a community. I am outraged and heartbroken by the grand jury’s decision to decline to bring charges against the officers involved in Daniel Prude’s death. Daniel died alone and naked on a Rochester street in the middle of a freezing winter night, and no one is being held accountable for that. This is not justice. We need increased transparency and oversight on investigations involving law enforcement, and we need healing, care, and compassion for people experiencing a mental health and substance abuse crisis.”

Senator Brouk is committed to ending the cycle of police violence against Black and brown people, in particular, those experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis. Earlier this month, Senator Brouk joined Assembly Member Harry Bronson (AD-138), Free the People ROC, The Black Healer’s Network, and other mental health experts to introduce Daniel’s Law, a bill that would amend public health law in New York state, establishing mental health response units that are trained to de-escalate mental health and substance abuse emergency situations. Our communities need a combination of policy solutions and community healing to put an end to tragedies like the death of Daniel Prude.

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New York State Senator Samra Brouk (pronounced Sah-mra Br-uuk) represents the incredibly diverse 55th Senate District, stretching from the southern shores of Lake Ontario, through Rochester’s Neighborhood of the Arts, and south to Finger Lakes wine country. It includes the towns of Victor, East Bloomfield, West Bloomfield, Richmond, Bristol, South Bristol, Canadice, and Naples in Ontario County and the towns of Rush, Mendon, Pittsford, Perinton, Penfield, East Rochester, and Irondequoit, plus the east side of the City of Rochester in Monroe County. Senator Brouk serves as the Chair of the Mental Health Committee and sits on Health, Education, Elections, Women’s Issues, Aging, and Alcoholism and Substance Abuse committees.