Disturbing body cam footage shows NY prison guards brutally beating handcuffed inmate, leading to his death
Brutal body camera footage shows a handcuffed inmate being beaten unconscious by prison guards before he’s stripped down to his underwear — a fatal attack that’s now under investigation by New York’s top prosecutor.
The sickening recordings were made public by Attorney General Letitia James Friday showing three correction officers repeatedly punching, kicking and stomping on Robert Brooks in an examination room on Dec. 9 at upstate prison Marcy Correctional Facility.
Brooks, 43, who was serving time for assault, died of injuries the next day. It’s unclear what sparked the beatdown.
“My deepest condolences go out to Mr. Brooks’ family,” James said at a press conference Friday.
“I do not take lightly the release of this video especially in the middle of the holiday season.”
But she added that she has a “duty and responsibility” to provide the public with the video.
The videos, taken from four jail guards, show the officers surrounding Brooks, who was handcuffed from behind, in the exam room before three of them begin punching him in the face and stomach and even stomping him in his lower torso area.
Several other officers could be seen standing by doing nothing despite Brooks having blood streaming down the right side of his swollen face.
During the approximately 30-minute incident, Brooks was roughly handled, with one guard appearing to hold him in a chokehold for a moment as he was forced to sit up on the exam table. At one point, Brooks is brought to the wall where officers hold him there for a while, though the officers’ bodies obscure what is happening.
Brooks was eventually brought back to the exam table where he was stripped down to his underwear appearing unconscious and limp, the video shows.
None of the videos include any sound since the cameras were only in standby mode, James explained.
Brooks was eventually taken to Wynn Hospital in Utica and declared dead from “asphyxia due to compression of the neck,” in the early morning of Dec. 10, Syracuse.com reported, citing the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office.
James said her office is “investigating this case thoroughly” and said her team met with Brooks’ family so they could review the footage of what happened.
Brooks had been transferred from Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, NY to Marcy Correctional Facility roughly 12 miles away the day of the incident, James said.
Brooks was serving a 12-year sentence after he was convicted of first-degree assault in 2017 for stabbing his girlfriend multiple times, the Democrat & Chronicle reported at the time.
The state corrections Commissioner Daniel Martuscello III said he was “deeply repulsed and nauseated” by what he saw in the footage.
“There is no excuse and no rationalization for a vulgar, inhumane act that senselessly took a life,” Martuscello said.
He said the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision was conducting an internal probe and that they would be implementing changes “to ensure that nothing like this can ever happen again within our facilities.”
The commissioner also said, at Gov. Kathy Hochul’s request, he began the process of firing those involved and so far had suspended 13 staffers without pay. One employee resigned, he said.
“This was a killing, and people will be held accountable,” Martuscello said. “These individuals are not representative of the culture of DOCCS nor anything that DOCCS stands for.”
Elizabeth Mazur, an attorney for Brooks’ family, said 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.”
Rev. Al Sharpton condemned the “horrifying” attack of Brooks and called for criminal charges to be mounted against the officers involved.
“These officers clearly thought they were within their right to hit Brooks in the stomach with the heel of a boot, level punches at his face or torso, and throw him around like a ragdoll — all with his hands behind his back,” Sharpton said.
“Their actions in this tape not only justify their firing but should merit appropriate criminal charges.”
Officials in New York City increased security on Rikers Island in anticipation of the footage getting released as the Gorilla Stone Bloods came out supporting Brooks on social media, according to law enforcement sources who it raised concerns this could stir up unrest in the city jail.
Brooks is not a member of the gang.
Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association President Benny Boscio called the incident “egregious and repugnant” and said the officers’ “are a disgrace to our profession.”
“This incident is completely contrary to the values we hold dear and the oath we take as Correction Officers, to provide care, custody and control on behalf of everyone in our facilities,” Boscio said.
“Our hearts go out to the Brooks family during this painful time.”
A lawyer for Brooks’ family didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday.
Additional reporting by Larry Celona
