By Darian Stevenson
syracuse.com
MARCY, N.Y. — The FBI announced this weekend it is investigating circumstances surrounding Robert Brooks ’ death, an inmate at Marcy Correctional Facility who was beaten by prison guards.
“The FBI Albany Field Office and the Department of Justice are reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of Robert L. Brooks to determine the appropriate federal response,” Sarah Ruane, a spokesperson for the FBI Albany Field Office, said Sunday.
Ruane said the bureau is not able to comment further at this time.
On Dec. 9, prison guards brutally beat Brooks, 43, who died six hours later at a Utica hospital. A video released Friday by the state Attorney General’s Office showed the officers punching, kicking, stripping and restraining Brooks.
Preliminary findings of an autopsy by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office said Brooks’ death was partially caused by the “actions of another.” No one has been charged at this time.
Brooks, originally of Greece in Monroe County, was sentenced in 2017 to 12 years in prison on a first-degree assault charge. He was arrested after stabbing his girlfriend multiple times, according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
Brooks had been held in the Mohawk Correctional Facility, records show, but at some point was moved to the Marcy Correctional Facility. State prison officials have declined to say why or when the transfer happened.
In addition to the FBI, the death is under investigation by four different state agencies — the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the state AG’s office, the State Police and the state Commission of Correction. The state Education Department, which licenses nurses and other professionals, was “aware of the matter,” a spokesperson said.
On Friday, Attorney General Letitia James released video that shows a crowd of prison guards beating and restraining Brooks in the small infirmary.
Gov. Kathy Hochul last weekend ordered 14 state employees involved in the assault — a nurse and 13 corrections officers — to be fired. One of the corrections officers, Anthony Farina, has already resigned.
Brooks’ family viewed the footage of the beating earlier this week. An attorney for the family said Brooks’ final moments “horrific and violent.”
The family’s attorney Elizabeth Mazur, released a statement on behalf of the family Friday after the videos were released.
“Members of the public can now view for themselves the horrific and extreme nature of the deadly attack on Robert L. Brooks,” she said. “As viewers can see, Mr. Brooks was fatally, violently beaten by a group of officers whose job was to keep him safe.”
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