Rochester suspends police officers involved in pepper-spraying 9-year-old girl

Multiple police involved in an incident last week in which officers pepper-sprayed a 9-year-old girl have been suspended.

The office of Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren (D) confirmed to The Hill that the mayor met with Rochester Police Department Chief Cynthia Herriott-Sullivan on Monday and ordered the chief to “immediately” suspend the officers involved in the incident. 

Officials did not immediately confirm how many officers were suspended, according to multiple reports. The officers are suspended with full pay. 

The suspensions are set to apply immediately and will continue at least during the course of an internal police review. 

The Rochester Police Department released body camera videos on Sunday of a Friday call in which officers pepper sprayed the girl. The police department published two videos, which show the child being sprayed with the irritant in addition to officers handcuffing her and attempting to place her in a police vehicle.  

The girl repeatedly called for her father and refused to put her feet in the car. 

Nine officers responded to the Friday call reporting alleged “family trouble.” Police were told that the girl “indicated she wanted to kill herself and she wanted to kill her mom,” Deputy Police Chief Andre Anderson confirmed during a Sunday briefing. 

Before the incident escalated, the 9-year-old ran away from home on Friday. An officer chased after her and asked “What’s going on? How can I help?” Some footage also showed the girl and her mother arguing.

When officers later attempted to get her into a police vehicle for several minutes, she kicked an officer’s body camera off, according to police. An officer can be heard in body camera footage saying “Just spray her at this point.”

The girl was taken to Rochester General Hospital and was later released.

Warren on Monday called for changes to New York state law allowing cities to “more quickly issue discipline in cases like this one.”

“What happened Friday was simply horrible, and has rightly outraged, all of our community,” the mayor said in a statement.