# Killing of Robert Brooks

On December 9, 2024, Robert Brooks, a 43 year old black man, was transferred to Marcy Correctional Facility from Mohawk Correctional Facility and was repeatedly beaten by five officers in Marcy Correctional Facility in the town of Marcy, New York Starting in the Arsenal, continuing through the grounds to the infirmary then beaten inside the infirmary and died from his injuries the following morning on December 10 at Wynn Hospital in Utica, New York.
Body camera footage showed that Brooks was handcuffed and had a prior facial injury, and appeared to be compliant, before being fatally beaten. A preliminary examination described Brooks's cause of death as "asphyxia due to compression of the neck." After an internal review, Governor of New York State Kathy Hochul directed the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYSDOCCS) to fire the 13 officers and a prison nurse who were involved in the incident. On February 20, 2025, murder, gang assault manslaughter and tampering with evidence charges would be brought against six of the prison correctional officers who were connected to beating and death of Brooks. By this point in time, 17 prison corrections employees who were connected to the beating and death of Brooks were at least suspended and are facing disciplinary action.

## Background

Prior to the killing of Robert Brooks, Marcy Correctional Facility was the subject of numerous reports of prisoner abuse. C.O. Anthony Farina and Sergeant Glenn Trombly, both implicated in the killing of Robert Brooks, were involved in the 2020 assault and disfigurement of the inmate William Alvarez. In 2015, Trombly was involved in the assault of the inmate Equarn White, after which White needed a wheelchair while recovering. C.O. Nicholas Anzalone, also implicated in the killing of Brooks, was one of four Marcy officers named in a federal lawsuit for the 2020 beating of Adam Bauer, a non-violent drug offender.
Robert L. Brooks was a 43-year-old inmate serving a 12-year sentence since 2017 for first-degree assault in the stabbing of his ex-girlfriend. He was a musician who completed a GED while incarcerated.

## Incident

On December 9, Brooks was transferred from Mohawk Correctional Facility to Marcy Correctional Facility to be brought to a medical examination room and sat on an examination table while handcuffed. The right side of Brooks's face was bleeding. An officer then forced a white object in Brooks's mouth and another officer held his throat. Multiple officers then started striking the restrained Brooks in his face, torso, groin, and buttocks. Several officers stood in the room as passive bystanders. Two officers then lifted Brooks, who was then unresponsive, by his shirt in an attempt to throw him out of a nearby window. The motionless Brooks was then placed on the examination table, where an officer conducted a sternal rub.
A preliminary examination named the cause of death as "asphyxia due to compression of the neck," from the beating.
Identified officers involved in the incident include C.O. Anthony Farina, Sergeant Glenn Trombly, C.O. Nicholas Anzalone, C.O. Matthew Galliher, Sergeant Michael Marshaw, C.O. Christopher Walters, C.O. Nicholas Kieffer, and C.O.s Along, Walrath, and Kessler.

## Aftermath

The beating received widespread condemnation. NYSDOCCS commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III made a statement that “It is not enough to simply condemn this horrific act and then go back to business,” emphasizing that his department now audits body cameras to ensure they remain activated at correctional facilities. NYSDOCCS declined to comment when it was revealed that at least three officers involved in the beating of Brooks (Anzalone, Trombly, and Farina) had documented prior histories of violence and abuse against prisoners.
On December 21, New York governor Kathy Hochul ordered the firing of 13 officers and 1 nurse involved in the incident following an internal review. The NYSCOPBA police union representing the involved officers called the events "a disgrace to their profession." On December 28, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that the FBI Albany Field Office was investigating the killing of Brooks. Because the office of the Attorney General of New York represents state employees facing legal action related to their jobs, lawyers from Attorney General Letitia James's office were assigned to defend four of the officers involved; consequently, James announced that she would recuse herself from the investigation. Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick was appointed to serve as special counsel in James's place.
Body camera footage of the incident was made public on December 27. The recorded bodycam footage has video but no audio as the 4 officers who wore bodycams during the incident had them powered on but not activated so the footage was recorded in the bodycam's stand-by mode where it does not record sound. Brooks's autopsy, released in February 2025, ruled that his death was caused by "compression of the neck and multiple blunt force injuries and the manner" and was ruled a homicide.
State lawmakers have responded with various proposals for reform, such as enlarging the New York State Commission of Correction and appointing an independent investigator. Closing the facility has also been proposed.

### Indictments

On February 20, New York Governor Kathy Hocul announced that prison workers would be arrested and charged with murder in connection with the killing of Brooks. A grand jury would issue murder, manslaughter, gang assault and tampering with evidence charges. At least six correctional officers, including all five of the corrections officers directly involved in the beating which led to the death of Brooks, were among those charged. The Albany Times Union later reported that "nearly a dozen" who those accused were already being arrested by New York State Police. The same day, it was reported that 17 corrections department employees involved in the killing of Brooks— including four sergeants, 11 correction officers and two nurses — were already suspended and facing discipline.