Robert Brooks Shown Being Brutally Beat By NY Correctional Officers In Bodycam Video Before Death

While Brooks had his hands cuffed behind his back, an officer can be seen pressing his foot down on him. Two other officers then punched the 43-year-old man. Brooks was also dragged from the bed by his shirt collar while his face was bloody.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has already initiated the process of firing 14 workers, including correctional officers, sergeants and a nurse, from the facility where the beating happened. All of the workers, except one who already resigned, are currently suspended without pay.

Daniel Martuscello, the commissioner of the state corrections department, said in a statement that his office is investigating the incident and they are determined to bring “institutional change.”

“Watching the video evidence of Robert Brooks’ life being taken left me feeling deeply repulsed and nauseated,” Martuscello said, per NBC News. “There is no excuse and no rationalization for a vulgar, inhumane act that senselessly took a life. This type of behavior cannot be normalized, and I will not allow it to be within DOCCS.”

According to James,  the officers didn’t activate their body cameras at the time of the incident. However, the camera was still recording on standby mode. Although the camera didn’t capture the audio, it was still recording for 30 minutes, the attorney general added.

The brutal beating happened in a medical exam room on Dec. 9 as Brooks was being transferred from the Mohawk Correctional Facility to Marcy Correctional Facility, which is also in Oneida County. The video shows that the 43-year-old was hanging upside down with his hands cuffed as he was taken into the medical exam room.

The autopsy report later stated “preliminary findings show concern for asphyxia due to compression of the neck as the cause of death, as well as the death being due to actions of another.” Brooks, who was imprisoned since 2017, was serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault.