Daniel Prude's children filed a lawsuit against Rochester, alleging that the city has a history of ignoring police misconduct

• The family of Daniel Prude on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Rochester.
• Prude died last March, a week after officers put a spit hood over his head during a mental health call.
• His family is reportedly alleging the city's history of unchecked police misconduct led to his death.

Daniel Prude's five children filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Rochester, alleging that a history of ignoring police misconduct is what lead to the killing of their father, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported.

The Associated Press reported the complaint also names at least six police officers, alleging "wrongful death and civil rights violations."

Prude died last March, a week after police put a spit hood over his head during a call to respond to his mental health crisis.

New York Attorney General Leticia James spent nearly a year investigating and building a criminal case related to the incident, but last month a grand jury opted not to charge the officers involved.

"My father had a hard life, but he was a great dad. He always showed me and my brother and sisters how much he loved us," Prude's oldest son, Nathaniel McFarland, said in a statement to the Associated Press. "Our hearts are broken by his death, but this lawsuit has given us hope for the future."

Last March, Prude's brother, Joe Prude, noticed that he was having mental health issues during a visit to his home and called 911 for help twice.

The first time, officers took Prude to a hospital for an evaluation, but he was released and continued to experience symptoms.

Hours later, the family called again. This time officers arrived and found Daniel Prude naked in the street and put a spit hood over his head due to concerns he might have COVID-19, according to police video made public in September.

The officers then pressed his head to the ground for two minutes until he stopped breathing. He was taken off life support seven days later and died.

Police initially said that Prude, 41, had died of a drug overdose, but a medical examiner listed the cause of death as homicide by complications of asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint. Prude was suffering from excited delirium at the time, New York Attorney General Leticia James said last month.

Prude's death went mostly unpublicized for six months until the body camera video was finally released following pressure from his family, the AP reported. Emails obtained by the outlet showed Rochester police commanders urged city officials to hold off on publicly releasing the footage because they feared unrest during the George Floyd unrest.

The lawsuit, which was announced Monday, viewed by the AP, but was not yet filed in the public court records database, names six officers involved in Prude's death. Attorneys for Prude's family say the "attempted cover-up" by the department and city government violated Prude's constitutional rights.

"His family sought help from the Rochester police, and that was a mistake - a fatal mistake. Instead of providing him with care and assistance, officers of the Rochester Police Department cruelly abused him, mocked him, and killed him," the complaint said, according to the AP.

The lawsuit alleges that the department's past confrontations between officers and those experiencing mental health crisis in recent years shows the city hasn't reined in police misconduct, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.

The complaint also includes excerpts from initial police incident reports, which attorneys say were altered to make them more police-friendly, including a discussion about calling Prude a suspect, rather than victim, according to the AP.

Attorneys for the officers involved have previously told the outlet they were following training during their response that day.