Senator Samra Brouk’s Statement in Response to RPD Pepper-Spraying of a Mother and Child in Rochester

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2021

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

Senator Samra Brouk (SD-55) has released the following statement in response to the Feb. 22 pepper-spraying of a mother and child by Rochester Police Department officers in Rochester, NY:

Statement from Senator Samra Brouk, SD-55: “The urgency grows every day to pass my bill in the Senate that prohibits the use of chemical irritants against minors (S4002). Once again, we have learned of a disturbing, traumatic, and violent response by police involving a young child in Rochester. I am outraged by new reports that RPD officers pepper sprayed a mother while she was holding her 3-year-old child—and, later in the incident, used a police vehicle to block their appalling actions from public view. Despite months of protest and discussion about the unnecessary use of force by Rochester's law enforcement, this incident illustrates that our community's concerns are not being heard. Our lives matter, and these abusive practices must end now.”

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