NYCLU Statement on Rochester Police Department Officers Pepper Spraying, Handcuffing a Child
ROCHESTER, N.Y. 鈥� In response to of Rochester police officers pepper spraying and handcuffing a 9-year-old Black girl on Friday, the New York Civil Liberties Union issued the following statement from executive director Donna Lieberman:
鈥淣o child should ever experience assault or abuse at the hands of law enforcement. There is no conceivable justification for the Rochester police to subject a 9-year-old to pepper spray, period.
The Rochester Police Department has no business serving as the first responder in a mental health crisis that calls for mental health expertise. It鈥檚 time for a full transformation of community safety, beginning with extracting the RPD from responding to mental health crises and putting trained mental health professionals in charge.
The City of Rochester and the Police Accountability Board must open investigations into this incident immediately, including reviewing RPD鈥檚 excessive force and minors鈥� policies, revealing body-worn camera footage, and holding officers accountable for wrongdoing. Members of the Rochester community have a right to know the misconduct history of the officers present, and what other reckless behavior these officers have carried out whether on camera or not.
We called on the Mayor and her administration to , and we will do so again: Rochester police must no longer respond to residents experiencing mental health crises, and the city must immediately create safe alternatives that provide care, not inflict violence and trauma upon those they were called to support.鈥�
