Six New York prison guards were indicted for second-degree murder in the beating death of a handcuffed inmate, a brutal incident captured on body-worn cameras that triggered widespread outrage. Four other corrections workers were charged with lesser crimes in the December death of Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility in an indictment unsealed Thursday, the Associated Press reports. A special prosecutor, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, said he was disturbed by the “sense of normalcy” of the employees on the video, which was caught unintentionally on the body-worn cameras. “I think any sentient human being looking at the tapes naturally comes to the conclusion that he must have said something. He must have spit at the officers. He must have resisted in some way. And the fact of the matter is, he did absolutely nothing,” Fitzpatrick said. Handcuffed corrections employees appeared one after another in a packed Utica court to enter not guilty pleas. Fitzpatrick said at least six made bond in court. Bail for the murder charges was set at a $250,000 bail bond or a $1 million partially secured surety bond. After some of the corrections officers were released, one man said, “This is not justice, judge — These people killed a Black man,” as he left the courtroom. One woman was removed after shouting “murderer, murderer.”
Protesters were upset that officers were offered bail. Fitzpatrick said the judge followed the law and the men were not flight risks. Prison guards Nicholas Anzalone, David Kingsley, Anthony Farina, Christopher Walrath and Mathew Galliher were among the people charged with second-degree murder. The name of the sixth person was redacted pending a court appearance next week. All six were also charged with first-degree manslaughter, meaning prosecutors believe they are criminally liable for the conduct of others. Brooks had been serving a 12-year prison sentence for first-degree assault since 2017. He arrived at the prison 200 miles northwest of New York City shortly before the videotaped beating after being transferred from another nearby facility. Fitzpatrick said Brooks was beaten three separate times as soon as he arrived at the prison, the last being the fatal beating in the infirmary caught on body-camera footage. The video shows officers pummeling Brooks, whose hands are cuffed behind his back. Officers strike him in the chest with a shoe and lift him by the neck and drop him. The video recorded on the night of Dec. 9 has no sound, but the guards watching the beating appear unconcerned. Brooks, 43, died the next day. Brooks died of a “massive beating” that broke a bone in his neck, ripped his thyroid cartilage and bruised several internal organs. He also died as a result of repeated restrictions to his airways, which caused brain damage, and choking on his own blood.
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