Protesters cause diners to flee in panic as they ‘shut down’ a restaurant in Rochester

A large group of demonstrators caused diners to flee when they surrounded a New York restaurant during a protest over the death of Daniel Prude in New York.    

More than 1,000 anti-racism supporters gathered together in downtown Rochester, where 29-year-old Prude suffocated to death while in police custody.

Pepper balls were fired at demonstrators, a bus stop was set on fire and authorities declared the event an ‘unlawful assembly.’

The incident involving the Rochester Police Department and Prude occurred in March, but newly released footage by Prude’s family ignited outrage this week nationwide. 

Rochester entered its third protests on Friday with footage showing protesters ‘shutting down’ a local restaurant. 

Footage taken by FreedomNewsTv shows a large group, many of them carrying banners and flags, chanting outside the restaurant while others dine.

It’s unclear what exactly was said, but group of diners rush away as the sound of broken glass. 

‘No need to run,’ one person says to the diners. ‘Nobody is hurting you. Nobody’s going to touch you…we’re shutting the party down.’

The crowd chants, ‘If you don’t give us our s***,’ we shut s*** down.’  

Before that, the demonstration began peacefully at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park around 6.30pm. 

Rochester First reports that the first few hours were filled with prayer and speeches, including one given by Daniel Prude’s brother, Joe.

As the massive crowed marched down avenues and streets, they chanted, ‘Daniel Prude!’

But as the group turned onto Court Street, they were met with a wall of law enforcement officers waiting.  

‘Rochester police has deemed this an unlawful assembly,’ the officers shouted through mega phones at demonstrators. People who stayed behind would be arrested, authorities said. 

That’s when officers reportedly began launching tear gas into the crowd.

Tension between civilians and law enforcement has skyrocketed since the death of George Floyd and other black Americans in custody over the past several months. 

Further west, cities like Portland, Oregon, have mirrored battle ground after federal agents were deployed by President Trump earlier this summer. 

His heavy-handed, militaristic approach to quelling protests have created a divide as debates swirl around a number of controversial tools.

Tear gas, as well as non-lethal munitions and pepper spray, have become common site at demonstrations – despite critics calling for a ban on such tactics.

Photos taken at the scene showed protesters using umbrellas, gas can lids and crouching behind cars to deflect from the tear gas. 

Those maneuvers are reminiscent of protesters in Hong Kong, who’ve utilized the household item for self-defense and a form of camouflage. 

At one point, WHAM reports that Rochester authorities also fired pepper balls at demonstrators. 

And footage showed that a bus stop was set ablaze as a large group of demonstrators stood down the street. 

As of Thursday, all seven officers involved in the death of Daniel Prude were suspended. 

Prude was left brain dead after his March 23 encounter with Rochester PD. He died seven days later when he was taken off life support. 

Prude’s brother Joe had phoned 911 for assistance as his sibling began suffering a mental health episode.   

Prude, who had been visiting Rochester from his hometown of Chicago, walked out of Joe’s house at around 3am in frigid temperatures, wearing only underwear, a tank top and socks.

As he made his way through the neighborhood, he started removing his clothes. Police claim he also smashed windows. Several other people encountered him, with at least one calling 911 to report his erratic behavior.

Officers placed a hood over his head and pressed his face into the pavement until he stopped breathing. 

His family shared video of his final moments to the public this week, prompting Mayor Lovely Warren to suspend all seven officers involved in the death. 

The Monroe County medical examiner ruled his death a ‘homicide caused by complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint’. The report also listed excited delirium and acute intoxication by phencyclidine, or PCP, as contributing factors. 

‘I have never shied away from taking action and holding our police — or anyone that fails in their duties in our community — accountable,’ Mayor Warren told reporters Thursday. ‘That is why I am suspending the officers in question today, against the advice of counsel.

‘You cannot stand around and allow these types of things to happen. You have a duty,’ she continued. ‘Mr. Daniel Prude was failed by the police department, our mental health care system, our society, and he was fail