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Former Rochester Police Chief Sues Mayor For $1.5 Million, Alleges Defamation In Daniel Prude Death Probe

Madeline Dovi Contributor
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The former Rochester police chief is suing the mayor and city for $1.5 million in damages, alleging his character was defamed and he was wrongfully removed from duty following the investigation into Daniel Prude’s death, local media announced.

Former Police Chief La’Ron Singletary filed a 26-page civil lawsuit, seeking damages from Mayor Lovely A. Warren and the City of Rochester over alleged “defamation of character, the creation of a hostile work environment preventing his fulfilling the duties of chief of police and his wrongful and retaliatory termination,” in New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Mayor Warren allegedly asked Singletary “to withhold full and truthful information from the City Council investigation into the matter of Daniel Prude,” the lawsuit states. (RELATED: Officials Concealed Details About Daniel Prude’s Arrest, Death, Investigation Finds)

Warren allegedly also asked the former police chief “to provide false information and to omit material information” to support “public narrative concerning her knowledge of the events in the matter,” the lawsuit says.

Singletary repeatedly refused to lie on her behalf, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that Warren “falsely and publicly declared” that Singletary “withheld information concerning the circumstances leading to the death of Daniel Prude” and “failed to provide information concerning the Medical Examiner’s report and its conclusions including the determination that Mr. Prude’s death was a homicide.”

“Defendant Warren most broadly defames Plaintiff’s reputation by falsely claiming that he intentionally deceived Defendant Warren, the City of Rochester, and the community of Rochester,” the lawsuit states.

In September 2020, Singletary and several other members of the department announced their retirements, local ABC affiliate 13Wham reported.

Just days later, Warren abruptly announced Singletary’s termination. He reportedly learned of his firing via Twitter, according to 13Wham.

A six-month independent investigation was launched into Rochester city officials’ response to Daniel Prude’s death, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported.

A March report obtained by the DCNF concluded that the mayor, police chief and other high-ranking city officials kept crucial details of the case hidden from the public.

Warren repeatedly claimed she was not informed until August about all the details of Prude’s fatal arrest, despite the report showing Singletary informed her on March 23, the day of the arrest.

Warren falsely claimed that Singletary had not informed her of any restraint following the arrest, and her understanding was that no physical contact had been made with Prude outside of the “normal physical contact when taking someone into custody,” the report stated.

Singletary disclosed to Warren that the officers restrained Prude, but downplayed the role of restraint in his death, according to the report.

The Monroe County medical examiner ruled Prude’s death a homicide that was caused by “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint,” the report states.

The seven police officers involved in Prude’s death were suspended, but a grand jury in February declined to indict them on any criminal charges.

Prude’s family released body camera footage in September 2020, roughly six months after Rochester police responded to the incident that March. (RELATED: Daniel Prude’s Family Members Argue Body Camera Footage Is Proof Of Crime)

The report said the delay in the release of body camera footage was in part due to city officials’ fear of backlash following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after being physically restrained by police in May 2020.

Rochester City spokesman Justin Roj issued a statement in response to the litigation.

“As detailed in recent court proceedings reported today involving other officers, there has been a legacy in the Rochester Police Department of untruthfulness,” he said, according to local news outlet WHEC. “Mr. Singletary’s testimony to the Special Counsel detailed his own inability to tell the truth, as a simple viewing of his testimony under oath clearly shows. Mr. Singletary failed in his duties as Chief and was rightfully terminated due to those failures.”