ROCHESTER, N.Y. — ​A day after the Rochester Police Accountability Board launched a probe into conduct by city police during protests last year, Rochester police leadership discussed department policies pertaining to protests.  

The statement discussed by Interim Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan and others expresses support for a citizen’s Constitutional right to protest. But it also addresses what’s unacceptable, and what is not.

“We want to be clear that people who are peacefully protesting have a right to,” said Herriott-Sullivan.

Like many U.S. cities, Rochester hosted protests and endured discourse following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. When the March death of Daniel Prude — who died a week after being taken into police custody — didn't become public until late summer, tensions erupted.  

“We want to honor the right for people to protest,” said RPD Executive Deputy Chief Andre Anderson. “That's not necessarily a tactic, but it's a mindset."

Police say if things get out of hand, they'll respond appropriately.

“When you see violent right as behavior, you see people getting injured or hurt, then those are the things that drive whether or not the protest would be disbursed,” said Herriott-Sullivan.

The grand jury investigating Daniel Prude's death and the police officers who responded has not yet come back with a decision. The chief was asked whether the statement regarding the protests was a way of getting ahead of that decision, whatever it may be.

“Yeah, that's fair. That's fair,” she said. “We may be using that to ensure that we're ready at a certain point, but that could really apply to anything moving forward.  But that's a fair statement."