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An autopsy report has determined that Robert Brooks, a Black inmate in New York who was brutally beaten by correctional officers, died by homicide.
Brooks was serving his 12-year assault sentence at the Marcy Correctional Facility when he died on December 10 after being beaten by correctional officers. Body camera footage shows correctional officers repeatedly punching Brooks in the face and groin as he was handcuffed on a medical examination table.
One officer used a shoe to hit Brooks in the stomach while another grabbed him by the neck and slammed him on the table. The officers removed Brooks’ clothes as he appeared to lay motionless and bloodied on the table.
The new report from Onondaga County Medical Examiner cited Brooks’ cause of death as “compression of the neck and multiple blunt force injuries and the manner” of death as homicide, per CNN.
“The autopsy report confirms what was already clear: Robert Brooks’ violent death was a homicide. We look forward to the prosecution of those responsible. In the meantime, we are pushing forward with our fight for justice for Mr. Brooks and his family,” Brooks’ family attorney Elizabeth Mazur said in a statement.
The FBI and Department of Justice are investigating the case as well as the New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations. A grand jury is set to be presented Brooks’ case on Monday (February 10). Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told CNN he would comment after the grand jury released its findings.
“Now that the Onondaga County Medical Examiner has ruled Mr. Brooks’ death was a homicide, I believe the legal process must quickly move forward with criminal charges being filed and arrests being made,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Wednesday (Feb. 5). “This reprehensible act of violence demands the full force of our justice system — the family of Mr. Brooks deserves no further delays.”
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