What experts see in ‘shocking and disturbing’ video of New York man beaten to death in jail

Body-worn camera footage documenting the fatal beating of Robert Brooks by New York state corrections officers has sparked outrage and condemnation, with experts analyzing the footage saying it showed police officers using excessive force.

Brooks, a man incarcerated at Marcy Correctional Facility in central New York, was pronounced dead in the early hours of December 10 at a Utica hospital. He had been transferred to Massey from Mohawk Correctional Facility earlier that day and was beaten by corrections officers in a medical examination room with his hands cuffed behind his back. Body camera footage shows police repeatedly punching and kicking Brooks in the face, chest and groin until he stopped moving.

The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations has launched an investigation into Brooks’ death. Attorney-General Letitia James on Friday pledged to “investigate this death thoroughly and swiftly using every possible tool at our disposal” and described the footage of the beating as “shocking and disturbing”.

It’s difficult to draw conclusions about the situation because the video footage doesn’t capture any audio and doesn’t show what led up to the violence leading up to Brooks’ death. But in the opinion of several experts who have seen the video, it shows excessive use of force and the failure of other officers to intervene.

“I can’t believe these correctional officers used excessive force,” Michael Alcazar, a retired NYPD detective and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told CNN on Friday.

Here’s more from experts on the film.

“Inhumane” and “unnecessary” use of force

Several law enforcement experts who spoke to CNN criticized the use of force by correctional officers in the film.

Bryce Peterson, an adjunct professor and senior researcher at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said Brooks, 43, appeared to be compliant with police and posed no threat when officers beat him, making the use of force legally It may be excessive.

“Just because someone is handcuffed doesn’t mean they can’t be subject to force,” Peterson told CNN on Friday. “However – and this is a big problem – if someone no longer poses a direct threat to the police and complies with instructions, then it is certainly excessive to beat, choke, etc. them.”

From the body camera footage, it’s unclear what led to the beating or why Brooks was taken to the medical examination room by police, as the footage first shows Brooks face down and handcuffed as three officers carry him inside facilities.

Peterson said a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Hudson v. McMillan, set standards for police use of force. A first assessment was conducted. An established governing force, Peterson said, “is justified only if it serves to maintain or establish discipline.”

Peterson said the potential for excessive force was “particularly” apparent “when the officers cleaned the blood off Mr. Brooks’ face and then began to beat him and continued to beat and grab him over the next 30 seconds.”

Peterson said prosecutors could consider a range of charges similar to the state and federal murder charges filed against four officers in the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, including murder of the lead officer The charges, as well as solicitation of manslaughter, failed to stop the unreasonable force and denial of civil rights against other officers at the scene.

Alcazar, a retired NYPD detective, told CNN on Friday that the footage “looks horrific.” The use of force “is inhumane. It’s unnecessary,” he said.

He added that it appeared several officers in the room did not intervene and stop corrections officers from beating Brooks.

“They should step in immediately and stop them,” Alcazar said.

He explained that officers who were not actively involved in the beating but failed to intervene may also be held legally responsible.

Alcazar noted in the film that the officers seemed “happy to do it, especially with a supervisor present.”

Likewise, former federal prosecutor and criminal lawyer Jeremy Saland said he was “disgusted” by the video.

“Law enforcement, whether it’s corrections officers inside prison walls or police officers outside prisons, has a responsibility to protect the public,” he told CNN on Friday.

The attorney general said Friday that the four correctional officers involved in the case did not turn on their body-worn cameras, which were operating in “standby” mode and recording videos without audio. Salander said this represented a “dereliction of duty” on the part of the police officer.

He added that failure to turn on the cameras could indicate “deliberate conduct” where officers “withheld or withheld information to protect themselves.”

No officials or their representatives have commented since the video emerged. However, the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, which typically speaks on behalf of prison employees, issued a statement calling the video “incomprehensible to say the least” and “certainly does not reflect the great work performed by the vast number of prison staff “. Most of our members are active every day. “

At least three of the officers involved in the beating were previously charged with assault, according to court documents obtained by CNN.

Enough power to “cause real damage”

Jeremy Foster, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, told CNN on Friday that he was injured when he saw two police officers grab Brooks by his shirt and shoulders and push him. When he got to the back right corner, his “jaw dropped.”

“It looks like a well-directed force is enough to cause real damage,” the doctor said. He noted that although Brooks had previously been alert and responsive when officers assaulted him, he did not appear to move or respond to provocation and appeared to “fall to the ground” after officers picked him up.

Foster said when officers grabbed Brooks and hyperstretched his neck, he likely suffered fatal injuries to his spinal cord. This can lead to “immediate or almost immediate paralysis of the body, including the breathing muscles,” he said. The official cause of death has not yet been determined, but preliminary findings from the medical examiner suggest he may have suffocated due to neck compression, according to CNN affiliate Spectrum News.

Minutes later, the video shows, an officer appears to perform a sternum rub on him, which Foster said is used to try to assess whether a person is conscious. Brooks seemed unresponsive to sternum rubbing.

He explained that when staff realized Brooks was unconscious, that should have prompted officers to immediately assess his airway, breathing and circulation and provide CPR or other life-saving measures if needed. In any of the footage released by the attorney general, staff do not appear to be performing CPR, although one man appears to remove defibrillator pads from the wall. The video ends before the electrode pads can be used.

Additionally, Foster said that if the officer’s attack had injured Brooks’ spinal cord, officers should have immediately worked to stabilize his spine, immobilize his neck and then assess his signs of life.

“I’m very concerned that he suffered a spinal cord injury during that video,” Foster said.

call for change

State officials rushed to condemn the fatal beating. Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement that she was “outraged and shocked” by the video of Brooks’s “senseless killing.” She added that she ordered an investigation into Brooks’ death and directed the commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to fire 14 people involved.

Federal officials are also investigating the case. “The FBI’s Albany Field Office and the Department of Justice are reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Robert L. Brooks to determine an appropriate federal response,” the FBI said in a statement to CNN.

Daniel Martuscello III, commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said in his own statement that he was “deeply disgusted and disgusted” by the video and that he would implement “institutional changes” at the department.

New York State Senator Julia Salazar has called for the closure of Massey Correctional Facility, saying the facility has “previously experienced irrational violence against incarcerated individuals.”

The New York chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union also called out Massey’s “culture of officer brutality and abuse” in a post on X. A culture of officer brutality in New York prisons must be stopped, leaders are calling for an end.

A 2022 report on Massey released by the Correctional Association of New York identified multiple problems at the facility, including “physical assaults” by staff on inmates and “pervasive allegations of racial discrimination.” State prisons are subject to independent oversight.

About 80 percent of prisoners surveyed for the report said they had seen or been subjected to verbal, physical or sexual abuse by staff. The report found that inmates reported experiencing seemingly random attacks by staff, as well as targeted attacks carried out as punishment.

The report recommended that the Office of Special Investigations and the Inspector General investigate “widespread allegations of abuse at Massey.”

CNN has reached out to the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision for comment on the 2022 report.

CNN’s Caroll Alvarado and Tanika Gray contributed to this report.

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