Graphic body camera footage released Friday sheds new light into the death of an inmate at a New York prison facility earlier this month, with corrections officers apparently unaware the footage was being recorded.
The state suspended 13 corrections department employees without pay — two sergeants, 10 corrections officers, and a nurse — earlier this month pending the outcome of investigations after Robert Brooks, 43, died Dec. 10 at a Utica, New York, hospital. Another corrections officer resigned following the incident.
Video excerpts were released Friday by Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office is leading the investigation into Brooks' death. Brooks had been serving a 12-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2017 to first-degree assault, according to state prison records.
"I do not take lightly the release of this video, especially in the middle of the holiday season," James said in a video statement. "But as attorney general, I release these videos because I have a responsibility and duty to provide the Brooks family, their loved ones, and all New Yorkers with transparency and accountability."
The footage does not include audio because, James said, the officers' cameras were on but had not been activated by those who were wearing them.
Brooks was transferred Dec. 9 from Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York, to Marcy Correctional Facility about 12 miles away, according to a news release from James' office. Brooks, who was handcuffed with his hands behind his back, was then taken to a medical examination room, where he was beaten, the footage showed. Brooks was then transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead the next day.
The video does not show Brooks doing anything to provoke the beating. Brooks' face is seen covered with blood in one of the five excerpts released by James' office. An officer is seen removing Brooks' shoes and beginning to strike him. The footage showed officers repeatedly striking Brooks for about 10 minutes. Brooks does not appear to resist or threaten them. At times, he looked dazed from the assault. An officer could be seen rubbing Brooks' sternum briskly with his knuckles while another officer removed Brooks' pants.
Other officers appear to walk in and out of the room, and no one tries to stop the attack.
The Correction Officers' Benevolent Association of New York, the union that represents the state's corrections officers, called the attack "egregious" and "repugnant."
"The egregious and repugnant actions of the officers who committed this heinous and fatal assault of Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility do not in any way reflect the values of the vast majority of Corrections Officers, including my members, who put themselves in great danger every day, maintaining the safety and security of everyone in our facilities," Benny Boscio, president of the union, said in a statement posted on X.
"These officers are a disgrace to our profession and should be held fully accountable for their abhorrent conduct. Our hearts go out to the Brooks family during this painful time."
Unless those accused of participating in the attack are criminally charged, arbitration and union rules reportedly could make it difficult to fire them.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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