About 200 people marched outside of Gov. Hochul’s office in Midtown Manhattan on Monday, demanding the arrest of the corrections officers and staff involved in a horrific deadly beating of inmate Robert Brooks at an upstate prison that was captured by officer-worn body-cameras.
On Monday afternoon, Hochul visited the facility where about a half-dozen uniformed New York State Department of Correction officers on Dec. 9 were caught on camera viciously beating Brooks — including punching him in the face and body and stomping on him while Brooks was handcuffed and had his legs shackled in the infirmary.
In the videos, the officers repeatedly punch Brooks in the face and body and yank him around by his neck while other officers and prison staff can be seen in the background smiling and laughing. At one point the officers appear to stuff something into Brooks’ mouth, before holding him down and seeming to cover his mouth and nose as the beatings continue, the videos show.
Brooks, who was serving a 12-year prison sentence for assault, appears to be unconscious and unresponsive through most of the video. He was eventually taken to an area hospital, where he died the next day.
The initial cause of death has been determined as “asphyxia due to compression of the neck,” though full autopsy results are still pending, officials said.
NY Attorney General
Body camera footage shows officers beating inmate Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, NY on December 9th. Brooks (inset) died of his injuries the following day. (NY Attorney General)
Last week, Hochul directed the state’s corrections department commissioner to fire more than a dozen workers involved in the fatal attack. The incident is undergoing an internal review, according to DOC officials; none of the officers have yet been criminally charged in Brooks’ death.
Criminal justice advocates praised the additional reforms the governor announced Monday, but demanded the officers and staff involved in the attack be held accountable as well.
“We understand that the governor went to visit Marcy Correctional Facility. That’s not enough. That’s not enough. We need jail time for these officers,” Rev. Kevin McCall said, addressing the crowd. “We are demanding that every single person, every single officer that had anything to do [with the attack] be fired and arrested,” McCall added.
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