Vaccine campaigns are underway across Asia

A grand jury has decided to bring no charges against police officers involved in the death of Daniel Prude; vaccine rollouts are occurring across Asia this week.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Gabby Birenbaum.

• No charges will be filed against any of the seven police officers involved in the death of Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old Black man who died of asphyxiation in March 2020 following an encounter with police in which they pinned him to the ground while he was experiencing a mental health crisis. [NPR / Rachel Treisman and Vanessa Romo]
• New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday that a grand jury had decided not to charge the officers. James expressed her disappointment in the outcome, saying the criminal justice system was unwilling to prosecute law enforcement officials who kill unarmed Black Americans. [NYT / Sarah Maslin-Nir]
• Attorneys for the Prude family said the ruling was another way in which systems — including mental health care, law enforcement, and criminal justice — have failed Prude. [The Root / Zack Linly]
• On March 23, 2020, Prude’s family called the police after he abruptly ran from their house. He had been evaluated at a hospital the prior day, but not admitted. Seven cops detained him naked, placed a hood over his head, and held his face against the ground with a knee on his back. He became unconscious and died in the hospital a week later. The Rochester Police initially called Prude’s death a drug overdose, and did not release the video until six months later, fearing unrest. In the months after the video release, nightly protests occurred throughout Rochester. [AP / Michael Hill and Carolyn Thompson]
• A few hundred protesters marched in the streets Tuesday evening over the decision; there were no arrests or physical clashes with police. Organizers have vowed to continue protesting. [Rochester Democrat & Chronicle]
• Prude’s death highlighted the problems with police response to mental health crises for organizers. One proposed solution is a divestment model in which police funding is diverted to another service, which would respond to mental health problems with nonviolent solutions. [Vox / Rachel Ramirez]