City of Rochester, NY
Rochester City Council
City Hall Room 301A • 30 Church Street • Rochester, New York 14614-1290

Loretta C. Scott, President
Councilmember At-Large
Willie J. Lightfoot, Vice-President
Councilmember At-Large
Malik D. Evans
Councilmember At-Large
Mitch Gruber
Councilmember At-Large
LaShay D. Harris
Councilmember
South District
Mary Lupien
Councilmember
East District
Michael A. Patterson
Councilmember
Northeast District
Jose Peo
Councilmember
Northwest District

September 3, 2020
The Honorable Letitia James
New York State Attorney General
The Capital
Albany, New York 12224
Dear Attorney General James:
Yesterday, the City Council and our community became aware of the death of
Daniel Prude, saw the incredibly disturbing body camera footage for the first time,
and learned of your role in the investigation. In addition, we received
correspondence from your office alerting us that pursuant to Executive Order 147,
the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit is already actively investigating the
incident. In the spirit of partnership we are requesting that you come to our City,
address our community, and explain the process your office must undertake.
Mr. Prude’s death is a tragedy and should have been avoided. Multiple systems in
our community failed Daniel Prude and his family. We need for justice to be served,
and for you to expend additional resources and staff to expedite the investigation of
his death. Our community is demanding that this occur with transparency and
urgency, and we support those demands.

We also heard from our City’s Corporation Counsel that the City was unable to
disclose any information around Mr. Prude’s death as a result of Executive Order 147, and we would like
to have a formal response if this is also your reading of the Order. If this is true, we strongly suggest that
the order be amended to allow communication to the City Council and the community, either from the
City or from your office. Every family and every community deserves the right to know if someone has
died while in police custody.
Sincerely,

Loretta C. Scott

Willie J. Lightfoot

Malik D. Evans

Mitch Gruber

LaShay D. Harris

Mary Lupien

Michael A. Patterson

Jose Peo

CC:

Mayor Lovely A. Warren
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Phone: (585) 428-7538

Fax: (585) 428-6347

www.cityofrochester.gov

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