ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Seven police officers involved in the suffocation death of Daniel Prude last spring in Rochester, N.Y., were suspended Thursday by the city’s mayor, who said she was misled for months about the circumstances of the fatal encounter.

Prude, 41, who was Black, died when he was taken off life support March 30. That was seven days after officers who encountered him running naked through the street put a hood over his head to stop him from spitting, then held him down for about two minutes.

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren announced the suspensions at a news conference amid criticism the city kept quiet about Prude’s death for months.

Prude “was failed by the police department, our mental health care system, our society, and he was failed by me,” Warren said.

The mayor said she only became aware that Prude’s death involved the use of force Aug. 4, and that Police Chief La’Ron Singletary initially portrayed it as a drug overdose.

Warren said the seven officers would still be paid because of contract rules and that she was taking the action against the advice of attorneys.