© Mark Vergari and Frank Becerra Jr/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK
(New York, NY) – Federal authorities are looking into the death of inmate Robert Brooks after video footage of his final moments were released to the public. Body camera footage shows corrections officers beating Brooks as he is on a medical examination table. Brooks, who was handcuffed for the duration of the video, is seen getting punched in the face and across his body – with officers at one point beating him with a shoe and lifting him up by his neck. Brooks died from his injuries the following day.
There was no audio in that released footage since the body cameras were not activated at the time. However, authorities were able to still obtain the silent footage, and it was released on Friday night by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The FBI has announced that they are investigating the incident to “determine the appropriate federal response”. At the state level, Governor Kathy Hochul has ordered the Empire state’s Department of Corrections to begin firing the 14 workers at the facility who were involved. The New York Times reports that two officers and a sergeant involved were previously named in federal lawsuits from inmates. The commissioner of the state’s corrections, Daniel F. Martuscello III, released a statement on Friday calling for systemic reform, noting that condemning those responsible is not enough.
