New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday released body camera footage from four correctional officers as part of an investigation into the fatal beating of Robert Brooks earlier this month in an upstate prison.
Newsweek reached out via email to the prison, Marcy Correctional Facility, as well as the New York Attorney General's Office for comment on Friday.
Why It Matters
Brooks, 43, died on December 10, the morning after he was assaulted by correctional officers in the Oneida County prison. The body camera footage shows him handcuffed to a medical examination table while the officers are aggressively kicking and punching him. Brooks' face is bleeding in the footage.
The videotapes and Brooks' death have drawn a public outcry.
What To Know
Brooks arrived at the Marcy Correctional Facility on December 9 after being transferred from the nearby Mohawk Correctional Facility. Hours later, he was taken handcuffed to the medical examination room and beaten by the prison officers.
He then was "transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead in the early morning hours of December 10," the New York Attorney General's Office said in Friday's statement.
Over a dozen officers were in the room. Four of the involved officers were wearing body cameras but did not activate them, which is why there is no audio on the video footage, according to James. The footage does not show Brooks provoking or physically responding to the barrage of punches against him.
Last week, ahead of the footage's release, New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) Commissioner Daniel Martuscello "to begin the termination process for the 14 individuals who were involved in his fatal attack."
One employee has since resigned, and the 13 others have been suspended without pay, Martuscello confirmed in a statement to Newsweek.
Preliminary findings of an autopsy by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office show "concern for asphyxia due to compression of the neck as the cause of death, as well as the death being due to actions of another," according to a court filing.
Newsweek has reached out via email to the Onondaga County Health Department for comment on Friday.
Brooks was more than halfway through his 12-year prison sentence for first-degree assault, the Associated Press reported. In 2016, Brooks pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in connection with the stabbing of his girlfriend Diana Rivera in April of that year.
Brooks has a mother who was informed of his death by force on December 15 by Martuscello, as confirmed to Newsweek in an email.
What People Are Saying
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement Friday: "Like all New Yorkers, I was outraged and horrified after seeing footage of the senseless killing of Robert Brooks.... I ordered an immediate and full investigation into the death of Robert Brooks and further directed DOCCS Commissioner Martuscello to begin the termination process for the 14 individuals who were involved in his fatal attack."
Martuscello said in a statement shared with Newsweek: "Watching the video evidence of Robert Brook's life being taken left me feeling deeply repulsed and nauseated. There is no excuse and no rationalization for a vulgar, inhumane act that senselessly took a life. This type of behavior cannot be normalized, and I will not allow it to be within DOCCS.... It is not enough to simply condemn this horrific act and then go back to business. Institutional change must follow, and we have already begun to take proactive steps to ensure that nothing like this can ever happen again within our facilities."
Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, said on Monday, ahead of the footage's release: "The public will witness the brutality that the Correctional Association of New York has documented in prisons for nearly two centuries and at Marcy as recently as two years ago. In July 2023, CANY released a report containing findings and recommendations following our monitoring visit to Marcy in October 2022. During interviews, 80 percent of incarcerated people reported having witnessed or experienced abuse by staff, and nearly 70 percent reported racial discrimination or bias."
The New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union said X (formerly Twitter) on Friday: "The horrifying culture of officer brutality + abuse at Marcy has been well documented for years -- yet nothing was done. It shouldn't take a cold-blooded killing captured on film to be a wake-up call to our leaders that the culture of officer brutality in NY prisons must be stopped. Robert Brooks should still be alive today. His family and loved ones deserve justice and accountability."
Julia Salazar, New York state senator, said on X on Friday that the footage depicts "unfathomable and lethal violence by DOCCS correction officers and staff... It should not even be possible for this to occur inside a New York state prison.... Marcy Correctional Facility cannot remain open."
What Happens Next
The Office of Special Investigation in James' office is investigating Brooks' death. More details are likely to come out after the official cause of death is released.
The statement from James' office concluded, "The release of this footage is not an expression of any opinion as to the guilt or innocence of any party in a criminal matter or any opinion as to how or whether any individual may be charged with a crime."
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