Former Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary and Rochester Police Locust Club President Mike Mazzeo have been removed from the RASE Commission, Rochester’s Commission on Racial and Structural Equity.

Both Singletary and Mazzeo were removed from the commission on September 4. They were both appointed by Mayor Lovely Warren, who signed off on their removal.

RASE Co-Chair William Johnson Jr., who made the announcement during a news conference Wednesday morning, is hoping to fill the vacancies as soon as possible.

Despite being frustrated with the situation involving the death of Daniel Prude, Johnson Jr. said he believes Warren can lead the city through this.  

"The mayor knew about this; she said she viewed the video tape on August 4. The commission members were sworn in on August 10, and at no time did anyone bring this to our attention," he said.

He also believes there was “gross negligence” on the part of the Rochester Police Department in this case, and that the training the police department receives needs to be revisited.

He added that he is hoping for peace between protesters and police.