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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul visited the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County on Monday, and directed immediate changes to protect staff and inmates following the death of inmate Robert Brooks in an incident with corrections officers earlier this month.
Body camera footage released last week by the New York attorney general’s office shows correctional officers hitting Brooks while he was restrained at the prison on Dec. 9. He died the next day at a hospital in Utica. State Attorney General Letitia James said her office will be investigating, using all its resources.
So far, 13 staff members connected to the incident have been suspended without pay. Another staff member has resigned. Brooks, a former resident of Greece, was serving a 12-year sentence for stabbing his girlfriend in 2016.
“Today, as I stood in the room where Robert Brooks was killed, I was once again heartbroken by this unnecessary loss of life and further sickened to think of the actions of depraved individuals with no regard for human life,” Hochul said Monday. “Mr. Brooks and his family did not deserve this. I told both Marcy leadership and the incarcerated individuals that I met with that every single individual who enters a DOCCS facility deserves to be safe, whether they are employed there or serving their time. The system failed Mr. Brooks and I will not be satisfied until there has been significant culture change. Today I am implementing a number of new policies at Marcy and within DOCCS, and I look forward to continuing to hear ideas from experts, elected officials, and advocates as we continue this work.”
Hochul directed the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to make changes, which include:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albany office said agents and members of the Department of Justice are reviewing the incident to determine what the federal response should be.
Hochul said she also met with a number of incarcerated individuals at Marcy who serve as liaisons for the larger incarcerated population and heard about their experiences.
