Man gets 33 months in prison for throwing fireworks at police during Daniel Prude protests

ROCHESTER, NY — A Rochester man who threw a lit firework at Rochester Police Department officers in 2020 amid protests after the death of Daniel Prude will serve 33 months in prison.

JohnMichael Santiago, 25, was part of a group of about 1,500 protesters who gathered at Broad Street and Exchange Boulevard, about a block north of RPD headquarters, and blocked all lanes of traffic on nearby streets on September 5, 2020. In the following hours, according to the US Attorney’s Office, some protesters threw rocks, bottles, lit fireworks and other objects at police, flashed flashlights or pointed lasers at officers. According to the US Attorney’s Office, the firework thrown by Santiago detonated in close proximity to the officers.

Santiago was not arrested that night, but when interviewed by police later, he admitted to attending the protest, bringing fireworks and throwing a lit mortar-style firework at officers. Then, while in custody at the Livingston County Jail in Geneseo after being charged with civil disturbance, he assaulted two corrections officers, throwing a hard plastic cup at one and hitting the other in the face with the fist Officers struggled with Santiago to secure him, with one officer suffering a concussion and contusions and another suffering a back injury.

The protest was part of the unrest following Prude’s death while in RPD custody in March 2020.

The RPD, FBI and US Marshall’s Service investigated.