Earlier today, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she is directing the state’s commissioner for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Dan Martuscello III, to “immediately begin the termination process” for 13 corrections officers and nurse following the death of Robert Brooks, an inmate at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida, New York, on December 10th.
The announcement follows the decision yesterday from New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James, to release bodycam video from December 9th showing the officers beating Brooks viciously, striking him repeatedly in the head and groin, as well as lifting him up by the neck and dropping him, all while Brooks is cuffed with his hands behind his back. The 43-year-old Brooks first appears clothed in the video released by James, his face bloodied and swollen, struggling against the beating on a medical examining table, and then lying unconscious in his underwear in a subsequent clip.
“I do not take lightly the release of this video,” James said in a recorded statement accompanying the release of the footage. “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.” DOCCS Commissioner Matuscello called Brooks’ death a “killing,” and declared his commitment to “vigorously pursuing justice for the Brooks family and ensuring that our agency takes the necessary steps to heal the community.”
In October of this year, the Corrections Association of New York, which is charged with providing independent monitoring and oversight of state prisons under New York’s Correction Law, issued a report on Marcy Correctional Facility raising concerns about the prison. “A number of issues at Marcy troubled us during our monitoring visit, including pervasive allegations of racial discrimination, mistreatment by staff, and non-adherence to the requirements of HALT,” said Jennifer Scaife, executive director of CANY. HALT is a New York State law passed in 2021 which limits the use of solitary confinement against inmates to 15 days. “We are calling upon the State Inspector General and DOCCS’ Office of Special Investigations to investigate these serious allegations of racial discrimination and violations of human rights.”
Robert Brooks was black, while every corrections officer appearing in the video is white. He was serving a twelve-year sentence for assault, and had been transferred from the Mohawk Correctional Facility to Marcy Correctional Facility on the same day he was beaten by officers at Marcy. He was pronounced dead at Wynn hospital in Utica on December 10th.
