Rochester police has announced its first ever female police chief after its command staff quit following protests over the cop killing of Daniel Prude.
Cynthia c, a former lieutenant with the Rochester Police Department, was appointed to the role of interim chief of the addled force Saturday morning.
Mayor Lovely Warren announced her appointment in a press conference at City Hall where she said Herriott-Sullivan is the right person to mend fractured relations between the community and police department and bring about much-needed changes to law enforcement in the city.
This came after Warren dismissed former chief Le'Ron Singletary last week after he and several senior members of the force stood down in their masses following a backlash over Prude's death.
Outrage erupted earlier this month when footage surfaced of black man Prude, who was suffering mental health issues, being suffocated by police officers in the streets of Rochester, New York, nearly six months ago.
Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan, a former lieutenant with the Rochester Police Department, was appointed as the interim chief of the addled force Saturday morning
Mayor Warren names Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan as Interim RPD ChiefMayor Warren names Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan as Interim RPD Chief
Posted by City of Rochester, NY - Mayor's Office on Saturday, 26 September 2020
Mayor Warren names Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan as Interim RPD Chief
Warren said Herriott-Sullivan's appointment will have a 'significant impact' on Rochester and the police department.
'Given all that has been happening here in our own community and across the nation, it is abundantly clear that traditional policing practices must be altered and improved to better serve and protect our citizens,' she said.
'I am confident she will bring a different perspective and instill a fresh approach to policing both of which are very much needed in our city, particularly at this difficult time.'
Warren said Herriott-Sullivan has shown throughout her career that she cares about the 'well-being of our community' citing previous work as part of a critical response team investigation into the deaths of people in police custody.
Herriott-Sullivan will be the first woman in the history of the force to take up the top position.
She will start her new role from October 14 and is expected to serve until at least June 2021, when the city hopes to appoint someone permanent to the position.
Mayor Lovely Warren announced the appointment in a press conference at City Hall saying Herriott-Sullivan will be the first woman in the history of the force to take up the top position
Herriott-Sullivan said at the conference that 'I love this city and I'm going to give this my 120-30-40-50 percent effort.'
'Ironically, I left law enforcement because I wanted to have a bigger hand in keeping people out of jail rather than putting them in there,' she said, adding that she wanted to carry on focusing on ways to help people stay out of the criminal justice system through 'things like keeping kids off the school suspension track'.
'I know these are tough times but I believe strongly if we all bring our best to the table we'll be able to get it done,' she said.
Herriott-Sullivan was a cop with Rochester Police Department for 24 years from 1985 before retiring in 2009.
Since then she has held roles as the Deputy Director of the National Drug Court Institute in Virginia and CEO with Rise Up Rochester, a nonprofit that provides support to families of victims of violent crime.
She is currently the interim deputy executive director at the Rochester Housing Authority and Deputy Executive Director of Rise Up Rochester.
Two other appointments were also made to the RPD command staff Saturday.
Captain Gabriel Person, who joined the force in 2005, was promoted to position of Deputy Police Chief.
Officer Moses Robinson, a crime prevention officer, was promoted to a role focused on community engagement and violence reduction.
Robinson said it was time for a change in policing across Rochester and America.
'Law enforcement strategies across the country need to be reformed, readjusted,' he said.
'We need to now look at a multicultural, multi-disciplinarian approach to how we do law enforcement.'
Outrage erupted this month when footage surfaced of black man Prude, who was suffering mental health issues, being suffocated by police officers in the streets of Rochester nearly six months ago
This came after Warren dismissed former chief Le'Ron Singletary last week
The news comes after Rochester police has been rocked by scandal following Prude's death.
Former chief Le'Ron Singletary, who Warren said initially misled her about the circumstances of his death, was ousted by Warren last Monday.
Singletary had announced his retirement the week earlier with his last day supposed to be September 29.
Several other senior police officials announced they would retire or leave top command positions after they faced a backlash over their handling of Prude's death.
But Warren said she had relieved Singletary of his duties effective September 21 as she revealed she had called for a federal investigation.
The city's communications director Justin Roj and city corporation counsel Tim Curtin were also suspended without pay for 30 days.
Protests erupted in Rochester after a video of 41-year-old Prude's death was made public on September 2.
A Rochester police officer holds Daniel Prude's head down during the deadly encounter
In this March 23, 2020 file image made from police body camera video provided by Roth and Roth LLP, Rochester police officers prepare to load Daniel Prude into an ambulance in Rochester, N.Y.
Paramedics arrived as Prude was wrestled to the floor, still wearing the 'spit hood'
Prude's family released the footage and filed a civil lawsuit against the city, alleging its leaders and police department covered up the details of his death.
The shocking video shows cops covering Prude's head in a hood and pushing his head into the ground, until he passed out and died.
Daniel Prude, 41, stopped breathing as Rochester police were restraining him in March
Officers responded to a 911 call from Prude's brother on March 23 asking for help in dealing with his erratic behavior.
Prude, who had mental health issues, was naked in the street when cops arrived.
They handcuffed him and placed a 'spit hood' over his head.
They then pinned down on the ground, with his face pushed into the pavement, for two minutes.
Prude passed out and died a week later on March 30, when he was taken off life support.
An autopsy from the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide caused in part by 'complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint'.
However no charges were brought against the officers and the video and incident was kept under wraps until Prude's family released it earlier this month.
An investigation has now been launched by the New York State Attorney General's Office into Prude's death.
This story is developing
