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Robert Brooks' son files suit over prison beating and death

The son of a Greece man who died after a brutal beating at a Central New York correctional facility sued the prison staffers in federal court this week.

The lawsuit, filed over the death of 43-year-old Robert Brooks, levies allegations against 16 correctional officers and other staffers at the Marcy Correctional Center, a medium-security facility in Oneida County, as well as the commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Daniel Martuscello. In the lawsuit, Robert L. Brooks, Jr., argues that his father’s death was the result of systemic mistreatment within in the New York prison system.

This stock photo shows a gavel and a depiction of the scales of justice.
Sikov
/
Adobe Stock
This stock photo shows a gavel and a depiction of the scales of justice.

“Robert’s beating and death occurred precisely because of that broken system, which is undergirded by a sustained acceptance of brutal staff violence from the highest level of the NYSDOCCS,” the complaint reads. “It has caused defendants and others who work at Marcy and other New York prisons to systemically engage in violence, including the violence that killed Robert.”

Brooks was in his seventh year of a 12-year sentence for stabbing his longtime girlfriend in 2016. He died on Dec. 10, 2024, the day after the beating. In body-worn camera footage released late last month, officers can be seen punching and stomping on Brooks, as well lifting him by the neck in a chokehold.

The video sparked international outrage, spurred an ongoing investigation by Attorney General Letitia James’s office, which later recused itself from the probe, and renewed a call for prison reform from Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“The video footage showing Robert’s fatal assault reveals a chilling scene,” the complaint reads. “It depicts several large, white law enforcement officers torturing a bloodied Black man who is restrained, helpless, and struggling to maintain consciousness.”

The complaint was filed Wednesday by attorney Steven Schwarz and Lesley Niebel of Faraci Lange, and Elizabeth Mazur, Matthew Piers, Caryn Lederer, and Kate Schwartz of Chicago-based Hughes Socol Piers Resnick and Dim.

Gino Fanelli is an investigative reporter who also covers City Hall. He joined the staff in 2019 by way of the Rochester Business Journal, and formerly served as a watchdog reporter for Gannett in Maryland and a stringer for the Associated Press.