Justice for Robert Brooks
Atlanta, GA – On December 9, 2024, Robert Brooks a 43-year-old Black man was beaten while handcuffed in the Marcy Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York. He died the next morning and was transported to a hospital in Utica, New York with cause of death described as “asphyxia due to compression of the neck.” Body camera footage released on December 27 shows 13 corrections officers (COs) involved in the beating and murder of Brooks.
Several of these COs have histories abusing prisoners within New York jails and prisons. CO Anthony Farina and Sergeant Glenn Trombly were both involved in the assault of William Alvarez in 2020. Trombly was also involved in beating Equarn White, which put White in a wheelchair. CO Nicholas Anzalone was involved in an attack on Adam Bauer, which left him with a large gash on his head after the CO hit him with a clipboard. The murder of Robert Brooks is not an isolated act but the latest in a history of violence and abuse by these guards
The killing of Robert Brooks is the latest in a series of abuses in jails across the country. In August 2024, a dozen Black men set themselves on fires to escape torturous conditions at Virginia’s Red Onion supermax prison. Conditions included putting prisoners in solitary confinement for as long as 14 years and using attack dogs on the prisoners who spoke out against abuses. In Atlanta, Georgia, the Fulton County Jail has seen nearly 30 deaths since 2023. Many were due to overcrowding and medical neglect, which ranged from people not being given their seizure medication to others being overdosed by the onsite doctors.