The black mother sprayed herself in front of her young child, police say

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The incident is the latest involved by Rochester police officers that has sparked widespread criticism and condemnation.

Camera footage from the Feb. 22 incident shows an officer responding to a store theft complaint and confronting a woman, who is seen holding the toddler.

The woman continues to show the agent the inside of her bag, insisting she did not steal anything.

The video shows the agent asking the woman to wait with him, but she runs away with the child in her arms. Then the officer chases her down the street, attacks her in a parking lot and holds her.

Three Rochester police officers are removed from patrol after a nine-year-old girl is handcuffed and sprayed with pepper

The child can be seen wandering and crying in the middle of the fight until another officer arrives at the scene and pulls him away.

In a statement, the Rochester police department said officers were responding to a report from a female burglar who “argued with store employees and refused to leave.”

The woman who was sprayed with pepper matched the suspect’s description in the complaint, police said.

“The boy was not sprayed or injured in pepper during the arrest,” the statement continues. “The woman was charged with rape and received an appearance ticket.”

The officer in question has been put in administrative duties until the internal investigation is completed, police said.

The Rochester Police Department has not responded to CNN’s request for comment.

Multiple incidents

Rochester police chief Cynthia Herriot-Sullivan said Friday during a news conference that officers appear to be following the department’s policy on pepper spray, which is allowed if the individual “physically resists.”

But questions arise about the need to use this force.

Protesters gather in the streets of Rochester after announcing that no agent will be charged with the death of Daniel Prude
The department has been on fire since the death of Daniel Prude last year, a black man who had a mental health crisis.

Rochester police officers handcuffed him and covered his head with a “spit sock” after spitting at officers, according to images from the body camera.

At another Jan. 29 meeting, body camera footage showed Rochester officers handcuffing and smoking pepper to a nine-year-old boy while responding to what police said was a report of “family problems.”
Another incident occurred in May 2020 when a ten-year-old girl was handcuffed during a traffic stop.

“A different strategy”

The Police Accountability Board, which held a press conference Friday to address the incident, said the department must “fundamentally change its organizational culture.”

The board said there are “worrying parallels” between the Feb. 22 incident and the 9-year-old pepper spray in January.

“Both incidents involved black mothers. Both involved black children. Both involved black people, obviously, in crisis. Both involved officers using pepper spray on or around a black child,” the statement says. of the council.

Black girls are often treated as adults during police meetings, according to experts. Rochester is just one example.

The Rochester Police Union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rochester Police Deputy Chief of Staff Andre Anderson said during Friday’s press conference that the department is working on “policy changes,” which include training courses on escalation and racial relations.

“We need to understand how to respond to young people and where they come from,” he said.

“When incidents like this occur, I feel relieved to make sure the police use cameras carried by the body, so we can see what’s going on in our streets and hold officers accountable,” the mayor said. Rochester, Lovely Warren, in a statement.

“Change will not come until we have the capacity to hold our officers fully accountable when they violate public confidence,” he said.

CNN’s Saffeya Ahmed, Laura James, Kay Jones, Alec Snyder and Kristina Sgueglia contributed to this report.

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