Fatal beating of shackled NY inmate Robert Brooks ruled a homicide
The death of a shackled inmate at a central New York State prison late last year has been ruled a homicide, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday.
Robert Brooks, 43, was brutally beaten with his hands tied behind his back by corrections officers while in custody at Marcy Correction Facility on Dec. 9. At the time of the attack, he was serving a sentence for first-degree assault at the prison in Marcy. Brooks was pronounced dead Dec. 10 at a nearby hospital.
Officers had not activated their body cameras, but video taken while the devices were in standby mode showed them punching, kicking, and choking Brooks while stripping him of his clothes.
Hochul confirmed the Onondaga County Medical Examiner performed Brooks' autopsy and made the finding on his manner of death, calling the killing a "horrific, shocking" murder, and for criminal charges to be filed and arrests made in the case.
"Those responsible for Mr. Brooks’ death must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law, and I recognize the need to build an airtight prosecution to ensure those individuals are brought to justice," the governor said in a statement. "This reprehensible act of violence demands the full force of our justice system − the family of Mr. Brooks deserves no further delays."
Family attorney confirms cause of death: 'Multiple blunt force injuries'
Hit repeatedly while multiple corrections officers and employees looked on, the beating stopped when Brooks lost consciousness. While the initial report said Brooks died after a confrontation with the officers, body camera footage released by the attorney general's office on Dec. 27 showed the brutal attack.
“From the autopsy, I can confirm the report indicates the cause of death is compression of the neck and multiple blunt force injuries,” Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym Partner Elizabeth Mazur, one of the lawyers representing the Brooks estate, told the Utica Observer-Dispatch, part of the Paste BN Network on Wednesday.
“The autopsy report confirms what was already clear: Robert Brooks’s violent death was a homicide,” Mazur said. “We look forward to the prosecution of those responsible. In the meantime, we are pushing forward with our fight for justice for Mr. Brooks and his family.”
New York is one of a handful of states where autopsies are not public records and only available to next of kin, attorneys, and insurance companies.
What happened to Robert Brooks?
On Dec. 9, nearly halfway through a 12-year prison sentence for first-degree assault, Brooks was moved from the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York, to the Marcy Correctional Facility, about 53 miles northeast of Syracuse.
Body camera footage shows Brooks' hands tied behind his back in a prison infirmary as officers punched him, hit him with a shoe, lifted him by his neck, pushed him up against a wall, and stripped him of his clothing before medical personnel entered an examination room to assess him.
He was transported to Wynn Hospital in Utica, where doctors pronounced him dead the day after the attack.
Brooks previously pled guilty to the felony assault charge for stabbing his long-time girlfriend on April 18, 2016, Paste BN previously reported. The next year, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The couple, who shared a teenage child, were involved in a physical fight at a home in the upstate New York town of Greece. It ended in Rivera being stabbed numerous times in the upper torso with a knife, police reported at the time. When confronted by neighbors, he ran from the scene and was later apprehended by local law enforcement.
Investigation opened into officers' use of force
Officials had been investigating Brooks' death, which sparked anger and led to a protest outside Hochul's Manhattan office and demonstrations in Rochester, where local leaders called for reform of the criminal justice system and the prosecution of the officers involved in the attack.
In late December, Hocul directed a full investigation, ordered the 14 corrections employees involved in Brooks' death be fired, and announced the prison would get a new superintendent as she aims for "significant culture change." State Attorney General Letitia James also opened an investigation into the officers’ use of force.
But due to conflicts of interest within the Attorney General's Office, the Observer-Dispatch reported Wednesday, the office has since recused itself and assigned Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick as special prosecutor.
As of Wednesday, no criminal charges had been filed against the corrections officers involved in Brooks' death.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department confirmed they're reviewing the case which remained under investigation Thursday.
Contributing: Christopher Cann and Amaris Encinas with Paste BN, and Justice Marbury with the Democrat and Chronicle, part of the Paste BN Network.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.