‘Shocking’ bodycam footage captures prison staff beating inmate shortly before his death
‘Shocking’ bodycam footage captures prison staff beating inmate shortly before his death
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In the video, shown by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday, officers can be seen surrounding Robert Brooks who is restrained. Newly released body cam footage shows the moment that a New York corrections officer violently beat an inmate on a medical exam table, just hours before he died.
![[New York attorney general Letitia James released the ‘shocking and disturbing’ footage during a press conference on Friday]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/11/28/16/53e3c057e6f340319c7b0017b1b66845.jpg)
In the video, shown by New York Attorney General Letitia James at a press conference on Friday, officers can be seen surrounding Robert Brooks – who is restrained with his hands cuffed behind his back. The officers are seen beating him on his head, chest, and genital area in the medical exam room with one officer hitting him with a shoe. Later, the video shows them taking off his pants and shirt.
![[At one point in the footage, the staff can be seen removing items of Brooks’ clothing while he remains handcuffed]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/27/19/newFile-1.jpg)
The disturbing incident occurred at Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County on December 9. Brooks died the next day in the hospital. Brooks, 43, had been serving a 12-year prison sentence for first-degree assault since 2017, according to the corrections department.
Footage of the beating was released during a virtual news conference hosted by James. The New York AG showed videos from four different officers, redacted based on her office’s guidelines. James said the four cameras were on but on standby mode, so they did not record sound, and described the footage as “shocking and disturbing.”.
“I do not take lightly the release of this video, especially in the middle of the holiday season,” she said. “But as Attorney General, I release these videos because I have a responsibility and duty to provide the family, loved ones and all New Yorkers with transparency and accountability,” she added. “My deepest condolences go out to Mr Brooks’ family.”.
