The Rodney King Moment: A Call for Reform in New York State Prisons
In a video that has made international headlines, a group of guards at Marcy prison upstate, some with smiles, punch and kick a handcuffed prisoner who died seven hours later.
For many formerly incarcerated New Yorkers, the scene of a handcuffed Robert Brooks, 43, being beaten by a team of state prison correction officers while in a medical bed on Dec. 10 was not shocking at all.
"That’s just how the system is. It’s been going on forever," said Greg Mingo, who served nearly 40 years in state prison before he was granted clemency in 2021 by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on his last day in office.
State correction officers often view incarcerated people as "less than human that don’t deserve empathy," Mingo added.
A Culture of Abuse
Brooks died at a Utica hospital approximately seven hours after the beating by 13 guards that was caught on tape, officials said. All told, 143 people died last year inside a state prison — the highest total in five years, according to state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision records.
Some 107 died in 2023; 111 in 2022; 137 in 2021 during the pandemic; 115 in 2020; and 113 in 2019, state prison records show.
Many of the cases are labeled as natural causes while some remain undetermined. The state attorney general’s office, which has been tasked with investigating prison violence since 2021, has not brought charges against prison staff in any of those hundreds of deaths.
A Pattern of Silence
Bruce Bryan, 55, from Queens, who did 29 years in New York state prison, said what he saw on the 20-minute video of the deadly assault is "standard behavior."
In 2008, a group of six correction officers yanked Bryan from his bed at 3:30 a.m., beat him, and tossed him into solitary confinement while he was doing time at Great Meadows Correctional Facility, according to the former inmate, who was granted clemency by Gov. Kathy Hochul in December 2022.
They accused him of having an affair with a prison nurse who was married to a correction officer, he said. He did 10 days in solitary confinement before he got shipped off to another prison, said Bryan, who added that he filed multiple internal prison grievances that never went his way.
"This is common practice," he added. "I’ve watched them throw handcuffed people down the stairs."
The Rodney King Moment
Attorney Glenn Miller and his law partner Ed Sivin, who have represented hundreds of incarcerated individuals who have sued the state prison system alleging similar violence, noted that the Brooks case is unique in one way.
"What is most unusual about the beatdown of Mr. Brooks is that it was captured on video," Miller told THE CITY.
Mingo called it the state prison system’s "Rodney King moment," referring to a video of cops severely beating a Black motorist in Los Angeles in March 1991, opening much of the public’s eye to police brutality.
Conclusion
The death of Robert Brooks is a stark reminder of the systemic issues plaguing New York state prisons. With hundreds of deaths occurring every year, it’s clear that something needs to be done to address the culture of abuse and violence that exists within the system.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What happened to Robert Brooks?
A: Robert Brooks was beaten by 13 state prison correction officers while in a medical bed at Marcy prison, resulting in his death seven hours later.
Q: How many people died in New York state prisons last year?
A: 143 people died in 2023, the highest total in five years, according to state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision records.
Q: Has anyone been charged in connection with the death of Robert Brooks?
A: Not yet, as the medical examiner’s official cause of death is still pending. However, the state attorney general’s office is investigating the case, and a special prosecutor has been appointed to assist with the investigation.
