New York’s attorney general releases “shocking and disturbing” videos of fatal beating of an inmate

New York’s attorney general releases “shocking and disturbing” videos of fatal beating of an inmate



CNN

Body-worn camera footage released Friday shows correctional officers at Marcy Correctional Facility in upstate New York punching and kicking a handcuffed inmate in a fatal beating that is currently being investigated by the New York attorney general.

Robert Brooks was pronounced dead Dec. 10 at Wynn Hospital in Utica, according to Attorney General Letitia James. Brooks, 43, had been serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault since 2017, prison records show.

CNN has reviewed the footage. Portions of it show surrounding officers kicking and punching Brooks, whose hands were handcuffed behind his back in a medical examination room. Brooks’ face appears bloody in some shots.

At one point, an officer appears to put something in Brooks’ mouth before repeatedly punching him in the face. Another officer then punches Brooks in the groin before hitting him with a shoe.

The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations previously announced that it had opened an investigation into Brooks’ death.

Robert Brooks is seen in a photo from 2010.

“As attorney general, you have my word that we will use every tool at our disposal to thoroughly and expeditiously investigate this death,” James said Friday.

She said four of the officers involved were wearing body cameras but did not activate them, so the cameras did not record audio of the incident.

“These videos are shocking and disturbing and I advise everyone to exercise appropriate caution before deciding to watch them,” she said.

James said Brooks was transferred to Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9 from Mohawk Correctional Facility, another prison in Oneida County.

Portions of the footage show Brooks being carried into the building by three officers, face down and with his hands cuffed behind his back. It’s unclear what led to Brooks being taken to the examination room.

Robert Brooks is seen after being beaten by correctional officers at the Marcy Correctional Facility.

The video shows officers punching and kicking Brooks

The attorney general released eight videos from body-worn cameras from four different officers. For most of the footage, Brooks’s hands are handcuffed behind his back as officers punch and kick him in the face, chest and groin.

The footage shows Brooks being handcuffed and carried facedown into the facility, with two officers holding his arms and one holding his feet. They take him to a medical exam room.

One officer appears to shove a white substance into Brooks’ mouth while another officer holds Brooks by the throat. The officer then repeatedly punches Brooks in the face, and another officer begins punching him in the groin. An officer is seen hitting Brooks with a shoe.

Two correctional officers then drag Brooks into an upright sitting position at the edge of an examination table – one holding Brooks by his neck – before laying him flat on his back. Then another officer places his foot on Brooks’ lower body and one of the first officers to strike Brooks punches him again in the chest.

The officer who hit Brooks with his leg is then seen holding Brooks’ legs before punching him in the buttocks approximately three times.

He and another officer appear to drag Brooks to the edge of the examination table again, his face visibly bloody. Brooks appears to say something before an officer punches him in the chest again.

Two officers then grabbed Brooks by the collar of his shirt and shoulder area, lifting him off the table before forcing him to the back right corner of the room and holding him against a wall as other officers watched.

Minutes later, a video shows one of the officers first hitting Brooks and giving him a sternum massage to determine whether the person is conscious.

The video then shows Brooks no longer handcuffed and lying motionless on the table in his underwear.

Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, told CNN it was possible that Brooks suffered a fatal spinal cord injury when officers lifted him off the table by his shirt. Authorities have not released a cause of death for Brooks.

“My jaw hit the floor when I saw it,” Faust said, “because it looked like the force was just in the right direction to do real damage.” He noted that Brooks, although he was previously alert and did not appear to move or respond to stimuli after officers picked him up.

The way the officers picked up Brooks caused his neck to hyperextend, Faust explained. This could have caused “a devastating spinal cord injury, resulting in immediate or near-immediate paralysis of the body, including the respiratory muscles,” he said.

New York officials immediately condemned the fatal beating. Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday she was “outraged and horrified after watching footage of the senseless killing of Robert Brooks.” The governor previously said in a statement Saturday that she had ordered an internal review of Brooks’ death and ordered the state Department of Corrections to fire 14 workers involved.

“The vast majority of correctional officers perform exceptional work under difficult circumstances, and we are all grateful for their service,” Hochul said. “But we have zero tolerance for people who cross the border, break the law and engage in unnecessary violence or targeted abuse.”

The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision also condemned the attack. Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III said in a statement shared with CNN that the video “deeply disgusted and resented” him and that he would implement “institutional changes” in the department.

“It is not enough to simply condemn this terrible act and then return to the matter,” Martuscello said. “Institutional change must follow, and we have already begun taking proactive steps to ensure that something like this can never happen again in our facilities.”

The commissioner said he has conducted a daily review to ensure body cameras are properly activated at each facility and has taken steps to ensure “senior leadership” is present on all shifts at each facility.

Marcy Correctional Facility is a medium-security state prison in Oneida County, about 52 miles east of Syracuse.

The Brooks family has reviewed body camera footage of the beating, Elizabeth Mazur, an attorney for the family, said in a statement to CNN.

“As expected, watching the horrific and violent final moments of Robert’s life was devastating for his loved ones and will be disturbing for anyone who views the video following its release by the Attorney General’s Office,” the statement said. “We will not rest until we ensure justice for Robert’s memory and the safety of prisoners at Marcy Correctional Facility.”

In a Sunday statement, NYSCOPBA, the union that represents New York correctional officers, described the footage of the beating as “incomprehensible to say the least” and “certainly not a reflection of the great work that the vast majority of our members do every day.”

This story has been updated with new information.

Correction: An earlier version of this story gave the incorrect day that the correctional officers union released its statement on the beating. It was Sunday.

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