ABC NewsBY: AARON KATERSKY and IVAN PEREIRA, ABC News
(WASHINGTON) — Two protesters who took part in Saturday night’s protest in Rochester, New York, were charged for allegedly assaulting police officers, federal prosecutors said.
Adam Green, of Dansville, New York, and Dallas Williams-Smothers, of Rochester, both 20, were charged in the Western District of New York with civil disorder for two incidents during Saturday’s demonstration, according to U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. The protesters were part of about 1,500 people who took to the streets in response to the death of Daniel Prude at the hands of officers in March.
The complaints contend that both men used weapons to attack police officers who were trying to disperse the crowd.
Green allegedly swung a wooden shield at a police officer, striking the officer in the forehead of his helmet, according to the criminal complaint. The officer suffered a cut and abrasion on the bridge of his nose, the complaint said.
Williams-Smothers allegedly ignited a “mortar-style commercial-grade firework” and threw it at officers, the complaint said. The device exploded and created a “risk of serious injury to officers,” though no one was hurt, according to the complaint.
The charges came from arrests made by local officers following an aggressive night of protests that stemmed from the release of body camera footage from the March 23 incident between officers and Prude.
Prude’s brother, Joe, called 911 to get help, saying Daniel was having a mental health emergency.
In the video, officers approached Prude, 41, who was naked, and he initially complied with the officers’ orders. Prude was subsequently seen shouting and spitting, which prompted officers to place a spit bag over his head.
The officers are then seen pinning Prude to the ground while the bag is still on his head and he eventually goes lifeless. Prude died a week later.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James is overseeing the investigation into Prude’s death and said she will empanel a grand jury. Seven officers who were involved in the incident have been suspended with pay.
On Tuesday, Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary announced he would retire at the end of the month with six other police leaders announcing they would retire or vacate their positions.
The announcement of charges against two protesters came on the same day the leader of the city’s police union, President Mike Mazzeo, called on Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren to resign. The mayor countered with asking him to step down, saying, “the problem with policing in Rochester are cops like cops like Mike Mazzeo that watch the video of Daniel Prude’s death and see nothing wrong.”
“Mike Mazzeo and his ilk exist only to protect and serve themselves, and certainly not the people of the City of Rochester,” Warren said in a statement. “It is time for Mike Mazzeo to resign, because his archaic ways of policing are no longer wanted in the City of Rochester.”
Ovidiu Dugulan/iStockBy MORGAN WINSOR and EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 897,000 people worldwide.
Over 27.5 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The criteria for diagnosis — through clinical means or a lab test — has varied from country-to-country. Still, the actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks.
Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the virus has rapidly spread to every continent except Antarctica.
The United States is the worst-affected country, with more than 6.3 million diagnosed cases and at least 189,718 deaths.
California has the most cases of any U.S. state, with more than 744,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins data. California is followed by Texas and Florida, with over 662,000 cases and over 650,000 cases, respectively.
Nearly 170 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least six of which are in crucial phase three trials.
Here’s how the news is developing Wednesday. All times Eastern:
Sep 09, 11:45 am Pharmacists will be allowed to administer COVID-19 vaccines to kids
The Department of Health and Human Services will allow licensed pharmacists to administer COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 3 and up, when or if a vaccine is made available, Surgeon General Jerome Adams announced Wednesday.
In August, the Health and Human Services Department said pharmacists would be permitted to provide routine childhood vaccinations amid concerns that kids were missing out on visits to their doctors during the pandemic.
But the American Academy of Pediatrics called that decision “incredibly misguided,” saying children would not get the same level of care from a pharmacist that they would from pediatricians. The American Academy of Pediatrics stressed that doctors’ offices are open and safe.
Sep 09, 10:09 am Miami University reports 159 new cases over Labor Day weekend
Miami University in Ohio reported 159 new cases of the coronavirus over the Labor Day weekend, bringing the university’s total number of cases to 1,037 in the last two weeks, according to a school dashboard.
Over the long weekend, six Miami University students were cited for breaking the city’s ordinance against large gatherings, ABC Cincinnati affiliate WCPO-TV reported.
The students told police they tested positive for COVID-19 and were supposed to be quarantining, WCPO reported.
Sep 09, 8:59 am No trick-or-treating allowed in Los Angeles County
No trick-or-treating is allowed this Halloween in Los Angeles County due to the pandemic, ABC Los Angeles station KABC-TV reported.
The health department said it’s too difficult to maintain social distancing with door-to-door trick-or-treating.
Parties, haunted houses and “trunk or treating” — when kids go from car to car instead of house to house — are also not allowed.
Car parades, dressing up houses and Halloween-themed meals at outdoor restaurants are permitted, the Department of Health said.
California has the most coronavirus cases of any state in the U.S., with over 745,000 people diagnosed, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Over 249,000 of California’s cases are in Los Angeles County, according to county data. At least 6,036 people in the county have died.
Sep 09, 8:31 am University in Illinois imposes two-week quarantine for all students
A private university in central Illinois is requiring its entire student body to quarantine for two weeks and is temporarily reverting to remote learning due to clusters of COVID-19 cases on campus.
Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, has confirmed just under 50 positive cases on campus so far, according to the school’s president, Stephen Standifird, who expressed concern over seeing “both large and small gathering where masks and physical distancing are not observed.”
“Although it may seem extreme, this move to temporary remote learning and a two-week, all-student quarantine allows us to focus on the continuity of the educational experience for all of our students while giving us time to gather data on the full extent of the spread of the virus and assess the best way to proceed as a community,” Standifird said in a message to students Tuesday.
From Tuesday, the school is requiring students to limit nonessential interactions, stay in their residence halls or off-campus housing and take classes remotely.
“This two-week quarantine creates an opportunity for us to reset our behaviors so we can have a successful semester,” Standifird added. “I still think it’s possible for us to do so. We would not engage in the two-week quarantine if I did not believe it was possible for us to complete the semester on campus successfully, but this only happens if we collectively change our behaviors moving forward.”
Bradley University currently enrolls nearly 6,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs, according to its website.
Sep 09, 8:00 am UK ‘urgently reviewing’ halted vaccine trial after volunteer falls ill
The U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it is “urgently reviewing all the information and actively engaging with the researchers to determine whether the trial should restart as quickly as possible,” following news that AstraZeneca had paused its COVID-19 vaccine study being conducted with England’s University of Oxford due to what the pharmaceutical company described as a “potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials.”
The government body is responsible for deciding when the trial can resume.
“Participant safety in any clinical trial is our top priority,” said Dr. Siu Ping Lam, the MHRA’s director of licensing division, said in a statement Wednesday. “We are working with the Oxford Vaccine Centre following the temporary pause of their COVID-19 vaccine trial to allow for the review of safety data. This is in line with the authorized protocol for the trial.”
The University of Oxford wouldn’t give details on the participant’s condition or whereabouts, citing patient confidentiality.
“Whilst it has been reported that one trial volunteer has become ill, this may be due to an issue related to the vaccine. It also may not,” a university spokesperson told ABC News Wednesday morning.
During an interview with Sky News on Wednesday, British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock revealed that it’s not the first time the trial has been halted.
“It’s not actually the first time it has happened to the Oxford vaccine and it’s a standard process in clinical trials,” Hancock said. “There was a pause earlier in the summer and that was resolved without a problem.”
Sep 09, 7:33 am England bans social gatherings above 6 for the ‘foreseeable future’
New rules limiting indoor and outdoor gatherings in England to six people will remain in place for the “foreseeable future,” British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock said Wednesday.
“I really hope we can turn this round before Christmas,” Hancock told BBC radio.
The restrictions, which will take effect Monday and be enforceable by law, will not apply to schools, workplaces or “life events” such as weddings and funerals, Hancock said. Unlike the previous set of coronavirus-related guidelines, people could be fined for failing to comply with the new rules — 100 British pounds (approximately $130) the first time, doubling on each offense up to a maximum of 3,200 British pounds (approximately $4,140), according to Hancock.
Sep 09, 4:37 am US reports under 30,000 new cases for second straight day
There were 26,387 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Tuesday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
It’s the second straight day that the United States has reported under 30,000 new cases in a 24-hour reporting period. Tuesday’s tally is well below the country’s record set on July 16, when there were 77,255 new cases in a 24-hour-reporting period.
An additional 445 coronavirus-related fatalities were also recorded Tuesday, down from a peak of 2,666 new fatalities reported on April 17.
A total of 6,328,051 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 189,680 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.
By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country’s cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 70,000 for the first time in mid-July.
Last week, an internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News showed the number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States had ticked upward while new deaths had decreased in week-over-week comparisons.
Sep 09, 3:49 am India records over 89,000 new cases as government relaxes restrictions
India confirmed another 89,706 COVID-19 cases and 1,115 deaths in the past 24 hours, as the government gradually eases restrictions in a bid to resuscitate the economy which shrank by nearly 24% in the last quarter.
The country’s cumulative total now stands at 4.37 million cases and 73,890 fatalities, according to the latest data from the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India has the second-highest tally of cases in the world and the third-highest death toll in the coronavirus pandemic, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The recent rise in cases can be partly attributed to increased testing. The number of daily tests being conducted across the vast country of 1.3 billion people has grown to over a million. So far, nearly 3.3 million people in India have recovered from COVID-19.
Despite the soaring infections, the health ministry announced Tuesday that schools outside containment zones will be permitted to reopen from Sept. 21 for students of 9-12th grades who seek guidance from teachers. In-person attendance will be voluntary and face masks will be required at all times. Online learning will still be permitted as students, teachers and staff members living in containment zones won’t be allowed to attend classes.
India’s most popular tourist attraction, the Taj Mahal, will also reopen Sept. 21, with a maximum 5,000 visitors allowed per day to prevent overcrowding.
The government allowed the phased resumption of metro rail operations across the country from Monday.
Kids4Change757BY: ESTHER CASTILLEJO and HALEY YAMADA, ABC News
(HAMPTON, Virginia) — Eleven-year-old Cartier Carey spent his summer at his lemonade stand in Hampton, Virginia raising money to buy diapers, wipes and other supplies for parents who needed help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cartier told ABC News that he noticed a shortage of diapers in stores during the pandemic and wanted to help.
“There was no diapers at all and I was like, ‘Oh, people are having babies so I should help [them] afford diapers,’” said Cartier.
He started a lemonade stand and made about $4,500 in the first month. His stand also served as a diaper drive where people could donate diapers.
On his first day back to virtual school, Cartier is still hard at work loading up a truck with more than 22,000 donated diapers.
In a heartwarming moment captured on video and shared by his own mother, one mother was moved to tears by Cartier’s work, saying that it reminded her of a time when she was in need.
“You are helping so many people. You have no idea. You see this truck? I didn’t always have this truck. I lived in a church home. And coming from where I came from and now here, it’s because of people like you. People gave me diapers, you know?” said the mother. “You’re an amazing young man and you can go far.”
Cartier said he wouldn’t forget that vulnerable moment and that it motivated him to keep working.
“It was heart-touching. I [almost] cried myself when she gave me a hug and started crying,” said Cartier. “After that, that made me just want to keep doing it.”
Although he’s back in school, Cartier told “World News Tonight” that he will continue his mission. Cartier and his mother started a non-profit organization called “Kids 4 Change” to help get other kids involved in the initiative. Cartier said that his inspiration is Kobe Bryant because the late basketball player inspired him to be great and work hard.
“Others can make a difference just like I’m doing right now,” he said. “They can save lives and be heroes. They’re never too young.”
(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) — After days of protests against the Rochester Police Department in light of the death of Daniel Prude, its top officer and his deputy announced Tuesday they are retiring from the force. Along with the police chief, the city’s entire command staff announced it will vacate their roles.
Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary said in a statement that he was honored to serve the city in upstate New York for 20 years and commended his staff. However, he said the protests and criticism of his handling of the investigation into the March 23 incident “are an attempt to destroy my character and integrity.”
“As a man of integrity, I will not sit idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character,” he said in a statement. “The members of the Rochester Police Department and the Greater Rochester Community know my reputation and know what I stand for.”
His retirement will be effective Sept. 29, according to Rochester City Council President Loretta Scott. Scott told ABC News as of now there is no blueprint for how the city moves forward following the retirements of the command staff.
Antonio Romanucci, the attorney representing Prude’s children, called Singletary’s departure “an important and necessary step to healing and meaningful reform in the community.”
“Clearly, the conduct of the officers in Mr. Prude’s case was inhumane, and the subsequent cover-up was unacceptable,” he said in a statement. “We look forward to securing justice for Mr. Prude and to having Rochester leaders do the hard work needed to address issues of systemic racism and training protocols in the police department.”
Mayor Lovely Warren informed the Rochester City Council that in addition to Singletary, the entire command staff announced it would be vacating their roles today. She noted that none of the police leaders were asked to resign.
The police union said the announcement took it by surprise, but laid blame at the foot of the mayor’s office.
“The events that have unfolded today have taken us completely by surprise, as they have everyone else,” the Rochester Police Locust Club said in a statement. “What is clear is that the problems of leadership go directly to the Mayor’s office. Our priority now is on the dedicated men and woman, who despite unprecedented challenges, continue to do a very difficult job.”
“Our members remain focused and committed to serving the citizens of this city, despite the lack of support and leadership that we are witnessing coming from our elected officials in City Hall,” the union added.
The announcement came during a scheduled city council meeting Tuesday afternoon, and Scott said she was totally unaware Singletary would make the announcement he did.
“It was unexpected. I didn’t know that it was going to happen,” Scott said. “I don’t know blindside is the right word. But yeah, right. This was a briefing to talk about how the police handled the protests.”
Deputy Chief Joseph Morabito was among those retiring. He had served on the Rochester Police Department for 34 years.
“It has also been my honor to serve this community through these many years; a community I was born and raised in, and deeply love,” he wrote in a statement.
Cmdr. Fabian Rivera also announced his retirement, while Deputy Chief Mark Simmons and Cmdr. Henry Favor each left the command staff to return to their previous ranks of lieutenant.
Tameshay Prude, Daniel Prude’s sister and administrator of his estate, said in a statement the departures were “a good step,” but reiterated that the entire force needed an overhaul.
Last week, body camera footage was released showing the March 23 incident involving Rochester police officers and Prude, 41. Prude’s brother, Joe, called 911 to get help, saying Daniel was having a mental health emergency.
In the video, officers approached Prude, who was naked, and Prude initially complied with the officers’ orders. Prude was subsequently seen shouting and spitting, which prompted officers to place a spit bag over his head.
The officers are then seen pinning Prude to the ground while the bag is still on his head and he eventually goes lifeless. Prude died a week later.
The news sparked protests throughout the city over the last six days and in some instances, things got heated. Officers have had to use pepper spray and tear gas on the protesters after they said bottles and rocks were thrown at them.
The New York State Attorney General’s Office is investigating the incident and seven Rochester Police Department members have been suspended with pay. The AG’s office said over the weekend that it will empanel a grand jury to decide whether the incident merits criminal charges.
Prude’s death was not made public until the video was released by The Democrat and Chronicle on Sept. 2.
Since the release of the video, advocates and community activists have criticized the police force for keeping Prude’s death and investigation under wraps for months. Warren and Singletary have defended their actions and said that everything they’ve done so far was by the book.
“He didn’t in any way try to cover this up,” Warren told the city council.
ABC News’ Alondra Valle, Chris Donato and Josh Hoyos contributed to this report.
iStock/MotortionBy: BILL HUTCHINSON and STEPHANIE WASH, ABC News
(KENOSHA, Wis.) — In his first public comments about being shot seven times in the back and paralyzed by a Wisconsin police officer, Jacob Blake described the pain he endures 24 hours a day and how his life changed in the snap of a finger.
The 29-year-old Black man, who was shot last month in Kenosha in front of three of his children, broke his silence in the 57-second video from his hospital bed that was released by his attorney.
“I just want to say, man, to all the young cats out there, and even the older ones older than me, it’s a lot more life to live out here, man. Your life and not only just your life, your legs, something that you need to move around and move forward in life, can be taken from you like this, man,” he says snapping his right fingers.
Blake, a father of six children, was shot on Aug. 23 when Kenosha police officers, including Officer Rusten Sheskey, 31, responded to a domestic incident after a woman called 911 saying, “Her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises,” according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. The woman has not been identified and authorities have not said if Blake was the subject of the complaint.
Once on the scene, officers said they tried to arrest Blake and deployed a Taser in an unsuccessful attempt to detain him, the department said. Investigators said Blake walked to his vehicle, “opened the driver’s side door, and leaned forward,” before Sheskey, who is white, fired seven shots into Blake’s back, according to the agency.
The shooting was captured on a witness’s cellphone video, sparking protests in Kenosha that included vandalism, looting, numerous arrests and the deaths of two men who were allegedly shot by a 17-year-old suspect who was among a group who say they were protecting property.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Blake and his family, posted the video of Blake speaking from Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee on Saturday, writing, “#JacobBlake released this powerful video message from his hospital bed today, reminding everyone just how precious life is.”
“I’ve got staples in my back, staples in my damn stomach. You do not want to have to deal with this s—, man,” Blake says in the video. “Every 24 hours, it’s pain, it’s nothing but pain. It hurts to breathe, it hurts to sleep, it hurts to move from side to side. It hurts to eat.”
Blake also added a message of hope that his ordeal will bring people together to turn his tragedy into something positive.
“Please, I’m telling you, change y’all lives out there,” Blake said. “We can stick together, make some money, make everything easier for our people out here, man, ’cause it’s so much time that has been wasted.”
Blake’s family said the shooting left him paralyzed from the waist down and that doctors fear he may never walk again.
All of the officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave. Sheskey is the only officer who fired his gun at Blake, authorities said.
No charges have been filed in connection with the shooting.
Investigators have not explained why officers moved to arrest Blake or why Sheskey fired so many times.
The agency said Blake told officers that he had a knife in his possession. Investigators said police later recovered a knife from the driver’s side floorboard of Blake’s vehicle. The Wisconsin DOJ has not said whether Blake was holding that knife during his interaction with police.
An attorney for the Kenosha Professional Police Association has previously released a statement disputing the facts about the Blake shooting that were released by the Wisconsin DOJ.
Crump has said Blake was helping to deescalate a domestic incident when police drew their weapons and used a Taser on him.
Blake’s family is calling for the officers to be fired and for Sheskey to be charged with attempted murder.
ABC NewsBY: AARON KATERSKY and IVAN PEREIRA, ABC News
