Footage shows NY officers beating prisoner before death.
Newly released bodycam footage reveals New York corrections officers assaulting a handcuffed inmate, 43-year-old Robert Brooks, who died the following morning. The incident occurred on 9 December at the Marcy Correctional Facility in upstate New York, with Brooks pronounced dead the next day.
Following an internal review, New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the dismissal of 13 officers and a prison nurse involved in the attack. The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James has launched an investigation into Brooks' death, while the state prison workers' union described the footage as "incomprehensible."
Released by James on Friday, the footage shows officers repeatedly striking Brooks in the face and groin while he sits handcuffed on an examination table. It also appears to depict an officer placing an object in Brooks' mouth before hitting him, another striking his stomach with a shoe, and one lifting him by the neck before forcing him onto the table.
Preliminary examinations determined Brooks' cause of death to be "asphyxia due to compression of the neck." However, the videos, which lack audio, do not clarify why staff initially took Brooks to the prison’s medical facility.
In a statement, Attorney General James emphasized her responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability, noting the video's release during the holiday season.
Brooks, serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault, had been transferred to Marcy Correctional Facility from the nearby Mohawk Correctional Facility on the day of the incident.
Elizabeth Mazur, the Brooks family’s attorney, described the footage as depicting a "horrific and extreme" attack, adding, "He deserved to live, and others in Marcy Correctional Facility deserve to feel safe from violence by prison staff."
Governor Hochul expressed outrage and horror over the incident, pledging zero tolerance for lawbreaking and full accountability for those responsible.
The union representing state prison workers distanced itself from the incident, stating it does not reflect the professionalism of most of its members. Meanwhile, the New York ACLU alleged that the beating underscores a broader culture of violence and lack of accountability within the state's correctional system.
A report issued last year by the Correctional Association of New York highlighted systemic issues within state prisons, including racial discrimination and mistreatment by staff, such as black inmates being denied meals due to their hairstyles.
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