Body-worn camera footage released Friday captured correctional officers at the Marcy Correctional Facility in upstate New York repeatedly punching and kicking a handcuffed inmate. The fatal incident is now under investigation by the New York Attorney General.
Robert Brooks, 43, was pronounced dead on Dec. 10 at Wynn Hospital in Utica, according to Attorney General Letitia James. Brooks had been serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault since 2017, prison records indicate.
The footage, reviewed by CNN, shows officers surrounding Brooks in a medical examination room, where they can be seen kicking and punching him while his hands are restrained behind his back. Portions of the video reveal Brooks' face bloodied during the encounter.
At one point in the footage, an officer appears to forcefully shove an object into Brooks' mouth before repeatedly striking him in the face. Another officer is seen punching Brooks in the groin and later using a shoe to hit him.
The New York Attorney General's Office of Special Investigations had previously confirmed the launch of an investigation into Brooks' death.
"As Attorney General, you have my word that we will use every possible tool available to us to investigate this death thoroughly and swiftly," James said Friday.
The final autopsy results for Brooks are still pending.
Preliminary medical findings indicate "concern for asphyxia due to compression of the neck as the cause of death," and suggest that the death resulted from "the actions of another."
The body-worn camera footage lacks audio, as the officers had not activated their devices. In response to the incident, the corrections department has issued a directive mandating the use of body cameras during all staff interactions with inmates.
A lawyer for Brooks' family, Elizabeth Mazur, said the release of the videos means "members of the public can now view for themselves the horrific and extreme nature of the deadly attack on Robert L. Brooks."
"As viewers can see, Mr. Brooks was fatally, violently beaten by a group of officers whose job was to keep him safe," Mazur said. "He deserved to live, and everyone else living in Marcy Correctional Facility deserves to know they do not have to live in fear of violence at the hands of prison staff."
