Family Demands Justice for Robert Brooks, Slain by Prison Guards, Calls for Systemic Reform

On a somber Monday night at Monroe County Jail in Rochester, New York, family and supporters of Robert Brooks gathered for a vigil. High above, inmates flickered their cell lights on and off in a show of unity. Brooks had died under tragic circumstances at a facility located over 100 miles away earlier in the month.

New York Attorney General Letitia James released body camera footage last Friday that captured a brutal assault on Brooks by 14 correctional officers and staff members at Marcy Correctional Facility.

The footage, recorded on December 9 by cameras worn by four staff members, depicted a horrific scene where officers choked Brooks, one kicked him onto an examination table, another punched his torso, and two others dragged his limp body across the room, attempting to prop him against a window.

Brooks, aged 43, was declared dead the next day in a hospital. An autopsy report is pending, but initial findings from the medical examiner suggest “concern for asphyxia due to neck compression” as the cause of death, implicating “actions of another.”

During the vigil, Robert Brooks Jr., his son, remembered him as a man with “a loving, generous heart” who cared deeply about young people. He expressed a fervent hope that his father’s death would lead to significant changes.

“His death should be a catalyst for change,” he stated emphatically.

Brooks’ father also spoke, condemning not only the assailants but also a nurse who appeared in the video to stand by idly during the fatal beating.

“Adhering to the law enforcement oath, the Hippocratic oath, or the Florence Nightingale Pledge means nothing if you can stand by, chatting and smiling, while a man is beaten to death. That’s sheer evil,” he expressed. “Between 2016 and 2019, about 15,679 individuals died in state prisons. They claim 47% died from illnesses—I can’t accept that. After that video, I can’t trust their word at all.”

At the time of the attack, Brooks had been serving a 12-year sentence for assault at the nearby Mohawk Correctional Facility but was transferred to Marcy on the day of the incident, as reported by The New York Times.

The Correctional Association of New York, an independent prison watchdog, noted in its 2022 report that 70% of Marcy inmates perceived racial bias among staff. Brooks was African American, and the majority of the facility’s staff, like 91% according to the report, were white.

Four out of five inmates reported experiencing or witnessing abuse by correctional officers or staff. One inmate described the abuse as “rampant,” mentioning that an officer declared Marcy “a hands-on facility.”

The Times also noted that at least three of the guards involved in Brooks’ beating had been previously named in federal lawsuits for attacking inmates; one such attack resulted in a plaintiff needing a wheelchair, another suffered disfigurement.

Elizabeth Mazur, representing Brooks’ family, spoke to a Rochester-based CBS affiliate about the incident. She raised concerns about a “cultural problem” within Marcy or the broader prison system that might have contributed to such violence.

“The manner in which Mr. Brooks was killed is simply horrifying,” she said. “It’s devastating enough to lose someone you love, particularly an incarcerated loved one when you couldn’t be there in their final moments. But to lose someone in such a senseless act of violence is unimaginably painful.”

The family plans to file a civil lawsuit, Mazur added.

Rallies demanding justice for Brooks also took place in New York City, with protestors gathering outside Governor Kathy Hochul’s office.

“We are not just going to sit and hope; we demand justice,” declared Rev. Kevin McCall, a community activist. “We demand that every single person, every thug involved in Robert Brooks’ death, be fired and arrested.”

The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision confirmed that 13 individuals involved in the incident had been suspended without pay, while one had resigned.