Summary

Footage released by the New York Attorney General shows corrections officers at Marcy Correctional Facility brutally beating handcuffed inmate Robert Brooks on December 9.

Brooks, restrained throughout the 15-minute assault, died the next day, with preliminary autopsy findings citing asphyxia and actions of others as the cause of death.

14 staff members have been terminated or suspended. Some officers failed to properly activate body cameras, violating state policy.

Advocates highlight systemic abuse and racial discrimination in New York prisons, while the investigation continues.

  • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    20
    ·
    4 days ago

    The US is such a backward ass country. The amount of backward ass things that happen on a regular basis in all parts of this society is just too long to list.

    • SmilingSolaris@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      4 days ago

      I am a former correctional officer of the texas department of justice and this exact same situation happened and I too stood by and listened as it happened. I helped escort the man from his cell to medical. I stood by listening to the other guard talk about how much of his ass he would be kicking. I stood there as they took him into a cameraless backroom and listened as they beat that man handcuffed. I stood to stop it, thoughts of pulling my pepper spray and going in there and just letting loose. A sergeant told me to sit back down and I did. I was not physically overpowered. I sat back down, and I listened. The only difference in this is that my victim didn’t die. I reported it afterwards. I reported it to the warden, to the state, to the media. Warden tried to reassign me back under the command of the person I accused in the most dangerous part of the prison. The state sent an investigator but nobody talked but me, not even my victim. I sent everything I had to local media and prison rights groups and heard NOTHING back. No one cared. It happened all the time, it was sanctioned, it happens in every prison in this country. The only difference is that this man died and the countless others did not.

      I look at those 14 names and I cannot help but feel I deserve to be on it. I was never punished for my cowardice. I quit, I say ACAB, I tell my story but I was not and never will be punished for my inaction because no one cares about an inmate being beaten by a guard unless he fucking dies.

      • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        4 days ago

        Well, you would think that we would at least try to a fix or alleviate the insanities. But no, we just talk about it for a few days while acting all shocked and then continue down the same road because no one can agree on a fix. In-freakin-sane system.

    • Snowclone@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      edit-2
      4 days ago

      There’s no monetary reason to oversee prisons and LEOs that work there. The goverment is paying a business, or funding a workplace, and any violations will just cost the goverment more money. Creating consequences for police will just cost the goverment more money. There’s every reason to ignore this behavior and no reason to create controls and enforce regulations. There was a huge news story about juvenile prisons in TX where child prisoners were being raped a lot, and often. The general reaction to this news in TX was ‘‘they are prisoners, they did the crime’’ adults raping children is OK, as long as it’s punishment and torture for felons who are also children. Just typing this out makes it all feel like some post apocalyptic fever dream…