BLM protesters tear down a police barricade in Rochester after the death of Daniel Prude

Black Lives Matter protesters tore down a police barricade in Rochester, New York, last night after the death of Daniel Prude.

Meanwhile similar rioting was quelled by police in Los Angeles who fired pepper balls at demonstrators after they launched concrete and bricks at deputies. 

Demonstrators in Rochester were filmed taking down steel barricades put up outside the City Public Safety Building which was guarded by riot police last night.

It follows similar action by protesters over the weekend, praised by the Democrat mayor for their ‘spirit,’ in response to video which recently emerged of Prude’s death.

Prude, 41, had a spit hood placed over his face by Rochester police and stopped breathing after he was pinned to the ground for two minutes on March 23.

Prude’s brother had called the police over his erratic behaviour – he was in the street naked and high on PCP, a powerful hallucinogen. 

He had been taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation earlier that night but was released after a few hours, his brother told officers.

His death sparked outrage after his relatives on Wednesday released police body camera video and written reports they obtained through a public records request.

Seven police officers were suspended Thursday, and state Attorney General Letitia James said Saturday she would form a grand jury and conduct an ‘exhaustive investigation’ into Prude’s death.

Mayor Lovely Warren and Police Chief La’Ron Singletary have faced calls for their resignations over the delay in releasing details of Prude’s death.

Police union officials have said the officers were following their training. 

In Los Angeles last night, there were also violent clashes with officers over the shooting of Dijon Kizzee.

Twelve rioters were arrested in the fracas after deputies said that chunks of concrete, bricks and rocks were hurled at them.

Police fired back pepper bullets, flash bangs and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators in south LA.

It comes after Kizzee, 29, was shot dead after he ran from officers attempting to stop him for a code violation when he was on his bicycle near West 109th Place and South Budlong Avenue on August 31.

He punched an officer when he was apprehended and in the scuffle, dropped a semi-automatic handgun on the street, prompting the police to open fire.  

President Donald Trump tweeted yesterday that Rochester was among cities that had ‘bad nights,’ while Rochester Mayor Warren commended activist leaders, police and community elders for a night of calm protest Sunday.

Protesters have demanded police accountability and legislation to change how authorities respond to mental health emergencies.

Free The People ROC released a statement Monday saying marches will continue until Warren and Singletary resign, officers involved in Prude’s death are fired and prosecuted, and the Rochester Police Department is stopped from responding to mental health calls and defunded.

Protesters gathered in a Rochester park Monday evening before moving to the city’s Public Safety Building by nightfall, for a sixth consecutive night of demonstrations.

Police lined up under the Frederick Douglass-Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge late in the night and announced on a loudspeaker that the gathering outside of the building had been deemed unlawful, and threatened that refusing to leave could lead to arrests. 

On Sunday, police said more than 1,000 protesters marched to the Public Safety Building, with community elders acting as a buffer between officers and protesters. The Police Department said no arrests were made.

‘Last night the world saw the true spirit of Rochester,’ Warren said in a statement, adding that she had told the police department Sunday ‘to adopt a smaller and more restrained posture.’

Trump, however, mentioned Rochester in a Monday morning tweet about cities he said ‘all had bad nights’ and were ‘weakly run by Radical Left Democrat Governors and Mayors!’

‘Get the picture?’ the Republican president added.

Demonstrations before Sunday had intensified into clashes between police and protesters, with officers dousing activists with a chemical spray and firing what appeared to be pepper balls to drive them from barricades around the headquarters building. At points, fireworks were shot off and a bus stop was set ablaze.

Warren, a Democrat, urged people to ignore Trump’s comments, accusing him of trying ‘to bait people to act with hate and incite violence that he believes will benefit him politically.’

This summer, Trump has repeatedly portrayed Democratic mayors as weak leaders who have let their cities be overrun by violence and disorderly protests, casting himself as the president of ‘law and order’ who will protect the country from chaos.

Shootings, killings and other crimes have increased this summer in cities including New York, Chicago and Detroit, though crime overall remains lower than it has been in years past.

Trump has sought to tie street violence to protests. Criminal justice experts say the crime spikes defy easy explanation in a year with historic unemployment and a pandemic that has killed more than 180,000 people.