Footage Shows New York Police Officers Beating Prisoner Before He Dies

Newly released body camera footage appears to show New York corrections officers fatally beating a handcuffed inmate who died the following morning.

The inmate, Robert Brooks, 43, was pronounced dead on Dec. 10, the day after the incident at Marcy Correctional Center in upstate New York.

Following an internal review, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the firing of all 13 police officers and a prison nurse involved in the assault.

New York Attorney General Letitia James' office opened an investigation into Brooks' death, and the union that represents state prison staff called the video “incomprehensible.”

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The footage – which was posted by James on Friday – shows officers punching Brooks repeatedly in the face and groin as he sits handcuffed on an examination table.

The videos also appear to show a corrections officer placing something in Brooks' mouth before hitting him, as well as another officer hitting him in the stomach with a shoe.

At one point, a police officer picks him up by the neck before forcefully placing him on the examination table.

Brooks died the day after the attack. Preliminary examinations determined the cause of death to be “asphyxia due to neck compression.”

It's unclear what initially prompted staff to take him to the prison medical center. Videos do not include audio.

In a filmed statement, James said she did not “take the release of this video lightly, especially in the midst of the holiday season.”

“I am releasing 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,” she said.

Brooks was serving a 12-year prison sentence for first-degree assault, according to the Associated Press. He had been transferred to Marcy from the nearby Mohawk Correctional Institution the same day as the incident.

Elizabeth Mazur, an attorney representing the Brooks family, said in a statement that the videos showed “the horrific and extreme nature of the deadly attack.”

“He deserved to live, and everyone else living in Marcy Correctional Facility deserves to know that they do not have to live in fear of violence from prison staff,” Ms. Mazur said of by Brooks.

After the video surfaced, Hochul – the governor of New York – said she was “outraged and horrified” by the incident and felt compelled to hold those involved accountable.

“New York State has zero tolerance for individuals who break the law, and I am committed to holding everyone involved fully accountable,” she added.

The New York union that represents prison workers said in a statement to local media that what “we have witnessed is incomprehensible to say the least and certainly does not reflect the excellent work that the vast majority of our members do every day.” “.

The New York chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, said, however, that the beatings were “not an isolated incident.”

“Rather, it highlights a culture of violence and a lack of accountability for wrongdoing by corrections officers who endanger the lives of incarcerated New Yorkers,” Executive Director Donna Lieberman said in a statement.

In a report released last year, the New York Correctional Association – an independent watchdog – found “pervasive allegations of racial discrimination” and “mistreatment by staff,” including turned away black inmates. dining halls because they had braided or plaited hair. .