On Friday, New York Attorney General Letitia James released body camera footage of the Dec. 9 assault on Black inmate Robert Brooks, 43, who died the following morning. This tragic incident has once again highlighted the disturbing treatment of inmates and raised important questions about accountability within the justice system.
The footage captures a deeply unsettling scene: correctional officers at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County repeatedly punch Brooks, strike him with a shoe, and even lift him by the neck before letting him fall. This shocking abuse betrays the trust that should exist between inmates and those responsible for their care. Brooks, who had been incarcerated since 2017 for a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault, was pronounced dead in a hospital the day after the assault.
Preliminary medical findings suggest that “asphyxia due to compression of the neck” caused Brooks’ death, with the actions of another person being the contributing factor. The final autopsy results are still awaited. In response, Governor Kathy Hochul has ordered the firing of over a dozen Department of Corrections and Community Supervision employees, including correctional officers and a nurse involved in the assault. She expressed her outrage, calling the videos depicting the “senseless killing” horrifying.
AG Letitia James made this video public of 43 year old Robert Brooks from December 9th.
Brooks was an inmate at Marcy Correctional Facility, NY.
The prison guards beat him to death. He died the next day. Bodycam footage.Was this released to potentially stir up race riots… pic.twitter.com/e4pf9Doo1f
— Dutch1777 (@dutch1777real) December 28, 2024
Attorney General James has cautioned the public against watching the footage, calling it “shocking and disturbing.” The video lacks audio because the officers’ body cameras were not activated during the incident. This oversight has prompted the corrections department to mandate body cameras be turned on during all staff-inmate interactions. This raises the question: why were these officers not held accountable in real time?
Brooks’ family is heartbroken. Their attorney, Elizabeth Mazur, emphasized, “members of the public can now view for themselves the horrific and extreme nature of the deadly attack on Robert L. Brooks. As viewers can see, Mr. Brooks was fatally, violently beaten by a group of officers whose job was to keep him safe. He deserved to live, and everyone else living in Marcy Correctional Facility deserves to know they do not have to live in fear of violence at the hands of prison staff.”
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, which represents state correctional officers, condemned the incident, saying, “This incident not only endangers our entire membership but undermines the integrity of our profession. We cannot and will not condone this behavior.”
The brutality displayed in this footage serves as yet another painful reminder of the deep-seated problems within our prison systems. The fight for justice for Robert Brooks must go on to ensure that such violence is never repeated.