New York authorities on Friday released “shocking” and “disturbing” videos of the violence suffered by an African-American inmate, who died after being beaten by corrections officers in a region prison.
From the cameras worn by the guards, the images show that the inmate has a bloody face and is receiving numerous blows, while he appears to be subdued on an infirmary bed, with at least six men around him. On several occasions he is held firmly by the neck. While the detainee is sitting, handcuffed and visibly injured, an agent puts on a plastic glove and grabs him again by the collar with the help of one of his colleagues to pin him against a wall.
No sound is available. The cameras were “on” but “the agents had not activated them so they were running without sound,” explained New York State Attorney General Letitia James during a press conference Friday. The videos do not make it possible to understand whether an initial incident took place.
The United States is regularly shaken by episodes of violence committed by law enforcement. In 2020, the death of an African-American, George Floyd, suffocated under the knee of a police officer during a police check, caused an immense wave of anti-racist demonstrations throughout the country.
The videos broadcast on Friday “are shocking and disturbing (…) I do not take their broadcast lightly, especially during the holiday season,” explained Letitia James, a Democratic elected official, justifying that they be made public in the name of “transparency”. Watching it “devastated” those close to him, said the family’s lawyer, Elizabeth Mazur.
The events took place on the evening of December 9 in a prison located in upstate New York. The inmate, Robert Brooks, 43, died on the night of December 9-10. He was serving a 12-year prison sentence for violence. According to the results of a first autopsy cited by the local press, his death was caused by “asphyxia due to compression of the neck”.
The authorities made little communication in the days that followed, but the Democratic governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul, announced last Saturday that she had ordered the dismissal of 14 prison employees involved in the violence. “We have no tolerance for those who cross the line, break the law and engage in unnecessary violence or targeted abuse,” she said.
Curious to find out who's in the news The essentials? Join us on the number 1 business network in Luxembourg!
