Stewart: Use of excessive force by RPD against people of color is systemic problem

Show Caption Hide Caption Rev. Stewart: RPD use of excessive force against citizens of color is a systemic problem Stewart praised mayor and lice chief for suspending officers accused of assaulting Christopher Pate, but said the problem goes beyond one case

A brutal encounter between a man jaywalking on a city street and two Rochester police officers never should have happened, but advocates are questioning what can be done to prevent the "systemic problem" of police using excessive force against people of color.

"Police misconduct, excessive use of force and violation of human and civil rights has been going on for decades in this city," Rev. Lewis Stewart, an outspoken advocate for criminal justice reform, said in a news conference Wednesday.

"We must send a clear and direct message to the police: The black people are not animals, that you cannot beat upon us and dehumanize us and continue to do so based upon your own racist desires," he said. "There's got to be a stop."

Two Rochester Police Department officers have been suspended without pay over the incident, Mayor Lovely Warren announced Tuesday. The Monroe County District Attorney's Office will review the case to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.

District Attorney Sandra Doorley said she received information about the allegations against the officers Monday.

“I’m reviewing all of the materials,” she said.

Both officers have been brought up on internal charges and were suspended pending disciplinary proceedings that could, if sustained, result in the termination of their employment with the department.

Stewart said he wants to see both involved officers face criminal charges.

"If a civilian did this to another civilian, they'd be in jail," he said. "These officers are not."

Stewart said he believes many police officers live up to their sworn oath protect citizens, but others do not.

Christopher Pate, 37, said he was approached by officers in an unmarked vehicle at Fulton Avenue and Bloss Street around 4:45 p.m. May 5. Officers claimed that Pate matched the description of an individual on their "most wanted" board.

Pate said that after he provided his identification and proved he wasn't the person they were seeking, the officers continued to escalate the situation and initiated a physical confrontation.

According to Pate, the officers tased and handcuffed him, then punched him repeatedly, breaking bones in his face.

Pate now has double vision because of the injuries and is seeing a trauma therapist, Stewart said.

More: Mayor, police chief discuss allegations of excessive force in Christopher Pate case

More: Andreatta: Christopher Pate's 'crime' was jaywalking

More: City man alleges police tased him, punched him while he was handcuffed

Christopher Pate's mother, Sandra Pate, who was the lone African-American in her high school's graduating class and often felt like an outsider, said her son's May 5 encounter with police left her feeling broken, hurt and disappointed.

"I know what I went through and my parents went through and naturally you don't want your child to go through those same things," she said. "I have bad, mixed feelings about law enforcement. I know we need protection and we need law officers to maintain the law .. .but we don't need them to brutalize us and to mistreat us and to hurt us."

Mayor, police chief discuss allegations of excessive force Two Rochester Police Department officers have been suspended without pay over allegations of excessive force in a May incident.

The incident was captured on one officer's body-worn camera. Warren said she has seen the video and found it disturbing.

"What I saw not only angered me and troubled me but hurt me to my heart," Warren said. "In this country and this city in particular, people with this kind of authority must be held accountable."

Only one of the two officers fully complied with department regulations in terms of turning on his body camera, Police Chief Michael Ciminelli said.

He also apologized to the community for what happened in this case.

"This was a tremendous failure of two police officers to honor the rights all our citizens should enjoy," he said. "Every member of this community deserves the protection of the Rochester Police Department, and we failed to protect that individual that day. I’m profoundly sorry that happened, not only for this citizen but for all the officers who go out every day and serve with honor and courage."

Pate was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, but those charges were dismissed several days later in City Court.

"It wasn’t even that officers went too far in making an arrest," Ciminelli said. "This arrest should not have been made in the first place, and it triggered a series of events that was frankly outrageous."

Pate filed a complaint with the Center for Dispute Settlement and a notice of claim with the city, a precursor to a potential lawsuit.

His attorney, Mark Foti, has yet to see the body camera footage, but said he has spoken to individuals who have seen the footage.

"Everything we’ve heard suggests that the portions of the interaction caught on video display a very excessive use of force," Foti said.

SLAHMAN@Gannett.com

VFREILE@Gannett.com

Includes reporting by staff writer Gary Craig