‘IT WAS PAINFUL AND HEARTBREAKING’

Kerria Weaver and Genae Shields

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | USA TODAY NETWORK

Hundreds gathered in Rochester in 2020 to demand police reform after the shocking death of 41-year-old Daniel Prude, a visitor from Chicago.

• Joe Prude, had called Rochester police officers March 23, 2020, for assistance with his brother, Daniel Prude, who was experiencing a mental health episode. After finding him in the streets, police officers arrested and restrained Prude with a spit hood over his head.

• A week after his detainment, Prude died in the hospital due to “complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint,” according to the Monroe County medical examiner.

Since Prude’s passing, new community leaders have emerged in Rochester, working to create more equitable living conditions for residents. Their names stand out amid wider ongoing community work: Stanley Martin, Grant Marthinsen, Niya Shabazz.

Martin has been a leading advocate for reforming law enforcement’s response to mental health crises. And community members like Marthinsen and Shabazz have developed programs and fostered conversations on police reform and gun violence, actively engaging the community in the push for change.

Stanley Martin

When Martin found out about Daniel Prude’s death, she said it was incredibly jarring and deeply disappointing because of lies that were told to the public.

“The nature of his killing, being naked in the street, not resisting arrest, being as vulnerable as a person can be — it was painful and heartbreaking,” Martin said. “I couldn’t sleep for weeks; I mean, it completely changed how I saw the municipal government and what they were capable of.”

x Rochester police spray mace and shoot pepper balls at protesters as they try to pull apart barricades outside the Rochester Public Safety Building on Sept. 2, 2020. COVER AND INSIDE ILLUSTRATIONS BY CAITLIN ELLINGSON/USA TODAY NETWORK; PHOTO BY SHAWN DOWD/ ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE; AND GETTY IMAGES

w Stanley Martin, center, with Free the People Roc, wrestles the microphone from the Rev. Lewis Stewart and confronts Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary, calling him a murderer as Black Lives Matter protesters disrupt the start of the Community Meeting Discussion on Daniel Prude’s Death and RPD on Sept. 3, 2020. The event at the First Church of God in Rochester was organized by the United Christian Leadership Ministry and Stewart. Singletary was to speak at the event, but left immediately after the confrontation. SHAWN DOWD/ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE

During this period, Martin took on a leadership role as the co-founder of Free the People of Rochester. This group organizes against policing systems of mass incarceration, hoping to build newer systems that keep people safe.

Martin served as an organizer in the movement to improve police accountability. “I was someone who was on the ground helping organize the different rally protests and meeting with people who had the power to align their policies with what we saw on the ground,” Martin said.

Martin’s leadership role continues today as she serves on Rochester’s City Council, a seat she won in 2021.

“I’m using my voice to build tables where we are united against fascism and racism and thinking about how we keep our community safe,” Martin said. “We’re really focusing on people knowing their rights and doing whatever we need to do to make sure that the Trump administration does not roll back a lot of the things we fought for.”

Grant Mar thinsen

Grant Marthinsen had just completed his graduate program in Washington, D.C., and returned to Rochester when the video of Daniel Prude’s death was made public.

Marthinsen works in digital marketing and serves as the chairperson of the board of directors at Refugees Helping Refugees. He is also a board member of 490 Farmers, a community garden, and an active participant in ROC Food Not Bombs.

For Marthinsen, Daniel Prude’s death was a catalyst for deeper community involvement.

“Watching that horrific video and seeing the militarized police response to people being dissatisfied with that was a motivating factor,” Marthinsen said. “I think it’s one of the reasons I’m involved in the community today.”

Marthinsen said Rochester has not changed as much as he had hoped since Daniel Prude’s death.

“Rochester is a very siloed city in some respects, and I think 2020 helped us start to break out of the silos, but that work is certainly not complete,” Marthinsen said. Having just moved back to Rochester in 2020, Marthinsen didn’t consider himself a leader then. However, he took on the role of coordinator within his small group of friends who regularly attended protests and events.

“When you’re in larger protests on the street, there tends to be a sort of default to an autonomous self-regulation of the protest,” Marthinsen said. “There’s plenty of spots where people can step up and be helpful, whether it’s trying to manage crossing intersections or keeping an eye out for folks who might be unhappy with the protests.”

Today, Marthinsen leverages his leadership in the organizations he serves, speaking out on issues like funding freezes and DEI cuts affecting the refugee center under the Trump administration.

“I am trying to use my voice there to push back and encourage both our staff and board members to not capitulate,” Marthinsen said. “At the end of the day, our leaders have proven time and time again that they’re not going to save us from the administration; it’s going to be the community that protects us from the Trump administration.”

Niya Shabazz

Shabazz, founder and director of the Community Justice Initiative, says the organization was formed in May 2020 after the arrest and detainment of a young girl, Nyla Bay, during a traffic stop on Route 104.

“As we were protesting in that month of May, for Nyla Bay and George Floyd for police brutality, we had no idea about Daniel Prude,” Shabazz said.

“We already had it in our hearts and souls to fight for our people. But I can say, he lit a fire in us because it happened right here in our home.”

Through programs like the Black Power Marketplace, Feed the Village and Food Delivery Services, CJI aims to support Rochester’s Black community and promote Ujamaa, the Swahili term for cooperative economics.

Regarding the relationship between the community and local police departments, Shabazz said she has seen efforts made by RPD community liaison Moses Robertson but does not see improvement.

“I don’t see any change, honestly,” Shabazz said.

“Tyshawn Jones was murdered by RPD. Mark Gaskill. Simron Gordon. The names continue to go on after Daniel Prude.”

Five years after Daniel Prude

According to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, protests reached new levels, with more than 10,600 events occurring nationwide during the summer of 2020 and well into 2021.

After the death of George Floyd, over 11,000 demonstrations associated with the Black Lives Matter movement were reported in nearly 3,000 distinct locations across the United States.

In the five years since Daniel Prude, police in the greater Rochester area have killed 13 people.

“I do believe it is important to have a positive relationship with RPD, but quite frankly, I don’t see that happening,” Shabazz said. “So we believe in strengthening ourselves and strengthening our community.”

— Kerria Weaver works as the Government and You reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle. Get in touch at kweaver@gannett. com .

— Genae Shields is the business and development impact reporter. Contact her at gshields@gannett.com.