by Yaminah Muhammad
Contributing Writer
“We want an immediate end to the police brutality and mob attacks against the so-called Negro throughout the United States.
We believe that the Federal government should intercede to see that Black men and women tried in White courts receive justice in accordance with the laws of the land, or allow us to build a new nation for ourselves, dedicated to justice, freedom and liberty.”
—Point No. 6, “What the Muslims Want,” from The Muslim Program of The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad
NEW YORK—The death of Robert Brooks, who was brutally beaten by Marcy Correctional Officers in a New York state prison facility, was ruled a homicide on Feb. 4, with, “compression of the neck and multiple blunt injuries” cited as the cause of death, according to an autopsy report issued by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Following the ruling, a special grand jury in Oneida County has been scheduled to begin reviewing the evidence of the case on Feb. 10, according to reports by the Albany Times Union.
The criminal investigation into the Dec. 2024 brutal beating of Mr. Brooks is being led by Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, who was appointed as a special prosecutor in the case in January. Additionally, New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office of Special Investigation is also still investigating the case. (See The Final Call, Vol. 44 No. 14)
Yet, with investigations ongoing, and no arrests or indictments issued, activists argue that the case has seen just as little justice today as it did the day it was first made public. While the public continues to wait for answers in the case of Robert Brooks, patience is wearing thin.
Just days before the ruling, frustrated voices rang out from Harlem (“Black Mecca”) in an ongoing grassroots effort to see that justice is served.
On February 1, social activists and community members gathered outside the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building in Harlem, New York, to demand that judicial action be taken against those involved in the brutal beating and death of the 43-year-old Black man.
While holding signs covered with demands like “Lock up the murders,” and yelling chants like “Justice for Robert Brooks,” protesters used the rally to call out government officials and hold the judicial system accountable in the case of Mr. Brooks and those like it.
Rally organizer Donald Curtis of the Unified Black Caucus declared the gathering to be a necessary response to the “torture and murder” of Mr. Brooks, which “the whole world has seen in real-time footage.”
Mr. Brooks, an inmate of Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, was captured on body cam footage worn by corrections officers being repeatedly beaten by multiple correctional officers.
While some officers were seen holding Mr. Brooks down, others were seen committing a range of heinous acts against him, including kicking and punching him in his face, neck, chest, torso, buttocks and genitals.
At one point during the attack, an officer can even be seen attempting to stuff what appears to be a white cloth in Mr. Brooks’ mouth. This all occurred while Mr. Brooks’ hands were handcuffed behind his back.
Following the beating, Mr. Brooks was then transferred to the Wynn Hospital in Utica, New York, where he was pronounced dead on Dec. 10, 2024—just hours after he was brutally beaten.
However, with over two months passed since his death, activists and loved ones have grown stronger in their demand to have all of the identified correctional officers and bystanding prison staff members arrested and indicted on charges related to his beating and death.
“Viewing that video of my childhood friend, Robert, that’s trauma, that’s me, just as his friend. I’m having a hard time processing. I can’t imagine his two sons he left behind, his grandson, both of his parents, or all of his family. It’s absurd to me that there’s been no arrests, no charges have been pressed,” said Rhiannon, a childhood friend of Mr. Brooks, who was at the Feb. 1 rally.
The rally was organized by various grassroots organizations, including Voices Of Da Voiceless, Men Talk, Parents Supporting Parents NY, Black Lives Matter Great New York, and others.
In addition to justice, many called for the unity of Black people in the fight for justice.
“We must all take on a militant, ‘you will not kill our people’ attitude because we are the only people told that we can’t be angry. We are the only people told that we don’t deserve justice.
But our ancestors literally built this country, under this same inhumane condition,” Tanesha Grand, founder of Parents Supporting Parents NY and Moms United for Black Lives NYC, told the crowd.
“We have to stand up for ourselves. We have to stop being reactionary and become proactive. Stop waiting until this happens to one of your family members,” she added.
Echoing her, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, Hawk Newsome, urged the people to “build community” and “build unity.” His sister and co-founder, Chivonna Newsome, proclaimed that the need for Black people to “unite under one umbrella” is urgent to advance Black people’s power to make lasting change.
After activists shared remarks, rally-goers took to the streets to march. The demonstration came just weeks after the family of Robert Brooks filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Jan. 15, in the United States District for the Northern District of New York, against 17 named defendants and others for their direct and indirect involvement in his beating.
This includes defendants Anthony Farina, Matthew Galliher, Nicholas Anzalone, David Kingsley, Nicholas Kieffer, Robert Kessler, Michael Fisher, Christopher Walrath, Michael Along, Shea Schoff, David Walters, Michael Mashaw, Glenn Trombley, Kyle Dashnaw, Abedin Mehmedovic, Danielle Medbury, Daniel Martuscello III, and other as yet identified individuals.
The family also plans to take future legal action against the state.
