According to the results of an autopsy report released Wednesday by the man’s family attorney, a handcuffed prisoner whose death beating by correctional guards last year caused outcry died by homicide.
According to the findings, Robert Brooks died on December 10 from multiple blunt force injuries and neck compression, lawyer Elizabeth Mazur told NBC News.
The defense team for the family claimed in a statement that the autopsy report validated what was already obvious. The brutal death of Robert Brooks was a homicide. We anticipate that those responsible will be prosecuted. We are continuing to pursue justice for Mr. Brooks and his family in the interim.
A finding of homicide does not necessarily indicate misconduct. It indicates that someone else caused the person’s death.
According to a representative for the Onondaga County Health Department, the matter is still being investigated, thus the results could not be made public. Citing an ongoing investigation, the local prosecutor’s office likewise declined to comment.
Citing the results, New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated in a statement that authorities should now proceed swiftly with the filing of criminal charges.
She stated that the full force of the law must be used on those accountable for Mr. Brooks’ death. The entire weight of our legal system must be applied to this abhorrent act of violence; Mr. Brooks’ family should not have to wait any longer.
A call for comment on Wednesday was not immediately answered by a representative of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, but the organization has previously called the officers’ actions, which were caught on camera, “reprehensible” and “not reflective of the great work that the vast majority of our membership conducts every day.”
After his death, New York Attorney General Letitia James told reporters that Brooks, 43, was transported to Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, about 240 miles north of New York City, on Dec. 9, while serving a 12-year term for first-degree assault.
James claimed that because the officers engaged in the altercation had not turned on their body cameras, they only recorded 30 minutes of video while the cameras were in standby mode and did not record audio. Several of the footage from the four cops’ cameras that showed the beating were made public by her office.
In one video, Brooks is seen being dragged upside down into a medical examination room at the prison while his wrists are chained behind his back. Although Brooks doesn’t seem to violently respond, it’s still unclear what was spoken between him and the cops, and the recordings show several viewpoints, making it somewhat difficult to understand what was going on in the room.
While Brooks’ hands are still bound, another video shows officers hitting him repeatedly. One of the officers is shown at one time grabbing Brooks by the neck and throwing him onto one of the room’s beds.
Hochul directed the state Department of Corrections to start terminating 14 correctional officers, sergeants, and a nurse at Marcy in December. With the exception of one officer who had already left, all 14 have been publicly identified and suspended without pay. On Wednesday, it was unclear what the remaining officers’ conditions were.
In an attempt to implement institutional reform, the state’s prisons commissioner, Daniel Martuscello, said in December that his office had opened an investigation.
“A vulgar, inhumane act that senselessly took a life has no justification or excuse,” he declared. “I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in DOCCS, and it cannot be normalized.
Last month, Brooks’ estate filed a civil complaint in a federal district court in New York, accusing 17 individuals of using excessive force and other charges related to the death. Damages are not specified in the lawsuit. The defendants have not replied to the lawsuit and no attorneys are listed for them.