Albany, New York (AP) — The tragic demise of a man who was brutalized by prison guards in New York has been officially classified as a homicide, as per an autopsy report revealed by the family’s legal representatives on Wednesday. The report, released by the county medical examiner’s office last week, indicates that the primary cause of Robert Brooks’ passing in December was neck compression and numerous blunt force injuries. The manner of death was declared as a homicide, as confirmed by the lawyers.
Footage from body cameras captured the disturbing scene where corrections officers assaulted Brooks for approximately 10 minutes while he was restrained with handcuffs on a medical examination table at Marcy Correctional Facility on December 9. In the video, one officer is seen using a shoe to strike Brooks in the abdomen, while another officer roughly pulls him up by the neck and then drops him back onto the table. Tragically, Brooks was declared deceased the following morning.
Commenting on the autopsy report, family attorney Stephen Schwarz remarked, “I think what this does is rule out any argument that there was some other cause of death other than what we saw on video.”
Recently, New York’s attorney general appointed Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick as a special prosecutor to investigate the circumstances surrounding Brooks’ untimely death. A grand jury is anticipated to review the evidence in the case.
As a result of the incident, over a dozen correctional officers and two nurses were suspended without pay, and one officer chose to resign. In response to the tragic event, Robert L. Brooks Jr., the son of the deceased, has filed a lawsuit against those involved in the assault, as well as the former head of the upstate facility and the commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
