On Friday, New York Attorney General Letitia James released body camera footage of the Dec. 9 horrific assault on Black inmate Robert Brooks, 43, who died the morning after the incident. This latest incident once again raised serious concerns about the treatment of inmates and the responsibility of those in power.
The footage presents a disturbing scene: correctional officers at the Marcy Correctional Facility, located in Oneida County, repeatedly punching Brooks, hitting him with a shoe, and even lifting him by the neck before letting him fall — a blatant violation of the trust that should exist between inmates and those tasked with their care. Brooks who had been in the system since 2017, serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault, was pronounced dead at a hospital the day after the assault took place.
Preliminary medical findings indicate “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.” While the final autopsy results are still pending, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has ordered the termination of over a dozen employees from the state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, including correctional officers and a nurse involved in the brutal assault. Hochul expressed her outrage, stating she was “outraged and horrified” by the videos depicting this “senseless killing.”
Meanwhile James is urging caution for those choosing to view the footage, calling it “shocking and disturbing.”
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Notably, the video lacks audio because the body cameras worn by the officers were not activated during the incident. This glaring oversight has prompted the corrections department to issue a directive mandating that body cameras be activated during all staff interactions with inmates. It raises the question: why were these officers not held accountable in the moment?
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
Brooks’ family is understandably devastated. Their attorney, Elizabeth Mazur, spoke out, saying, “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, representing state correctional officers, also condemned the incident. They stated, “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 shown in the footage is yet another sad reminder of the systemic issues that plague our prison systems. The fight for justice for Robert Brooks must continue, ensuring that such violence is never repeated.
