[5]: 64 In 1893, the department established a bicycle division consisting of two officers who apprehended a daily average of 25 "scorchers" (speeders).

[8] In October 1990, while serving as chief of police, Gordan Urlacher was arrested in Mayor Thomas Ryan's office on charges of conspiracy and embezzlement.

Then-Rochester Police Chief Gordon F. Urlacher said departmental charges would be filed against Officer Smith.

— Police Chief James Sheppard [29] Operation Cool Down has prompted a backlash of criticism for racial profiling from residents, the ACLU, and Chair of City Council's Public Safety Committee Adam McFadden.

The NYCLU among other community groups have questioned the effectiveness of the mass surveillance tactics and whether they invade the privacy of everyday law-abiding civilians.

After the video of the police interaction and arrest was posted on YouTube, it immediately went viral and attain sustained local, national,[35][36][37] and international media coverage.

Starting in at least 2004,[38] Rochester Police have come under criticism by their now common practice showing up in riot gear after the Puerto Rican festival.

"[39] While many festival goers say honking, dancing, and street partying is all in good fun, police say riot gear is necessary to clear out the neighborhood.

-Executive Deputy Police Chief George Markert, at a Special Session of City Council [43]Although Rochester police promised a full report on incident,[44][45] no report was ever released and it remains unclear if any changes were made in result of the public response or the internal investigation.

On July 22, 2012, Rochester police broke up a peaceful anti-capitalist march on East Avenue with pepper spray and 18 arrests.

The encounter of Daniel Prude with Rochester Police officers on March 23, 2020, and his subsequent death on March 30, sparked intense national criticism of the agency, for a nearly six-month delay in suspending the officers involved, city and department leaders withholding information from the public, and for an aggressive police response to protests.

Prude, suffering from a mental health episode, tries to stand and several officers used restraining techniques to control him.

[49] While his heartbeat was restored by paramedics, he was functionally brain-dead, and when disconnected from life support one week later, pronounced dead.

The Monroe County Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide, with "complications from asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint", excited delirium and PCP intoxication listed as factors.

[53] On September 5, New York State Attorney General Leticia James announced creation of a grand jury to investigate his death.

Police repeatedly clashed with protesters, facing further scrutiny for crowd control tactics used on multiple nights that escalated tensions.

[55] City Hall, the Public Safety Building, and two police substations have been locations of marches and protests.

[56] Protesters marched and assembled at police barricades surrounding city buildings the evenings of Sept 2 through the 5th.

[57] The protest organizers have repeatedly called for the resignation of Police Chief La'Ron Singletary, who initially refused; and Mayor Lovely Warren.

[58] Protesters demanded that involved officers be fired, criminally prosecuted, and barred from future police employment.

[61] A grand jury declined to issue any indictments against the seven officers involved in Daniel Prude’s death, after being announced by Attorney General Leticia James on February 23.

[63] She noted several recommendations for changes in state law and department policy, regarding police response to mental health calls, de-escalation training for officers, and the use of spit hood alternatives.

On July 11, 2022, RPD investigator Charles LoTempio was involved in an incident with Monroe Ambulance's emergency medical technician Lekia Smith at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

[72][75] The police union of Rochester criticized the suspension, claiming that the incident "reached a mutually acceptable resolution that day" when "both accepted each other’s explanations" for their actions; the EMT's lawyer responded that the union was providing a "jaw-dropping" lie as the investigator and EMT "never came to any agreement".

[74][76] A Rochester Democrat and Chronicle review of records showed that RPD investigator Charles LoTempio received a 30-day suspension for excessive force and submitting an erroneous report in 2013, when he struck a handcuffed suspect with a metal flashlight, and failed to report that this strike occurred because LoTempio was trying to punch the suspect's chin.

[77] It also showed that LoTempio was officially reprimanded for conducting a strip search on a suspect without a warrant in 2012, while also receiving a note on his record that he committed a "failure to execute a command order" in 2012.

[78] In 2023, Rochester police officer Shawn Jordan was arrested and charged with allegedly exposing himself to a 16-year-old girl in an online video chat.