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New York state Attorney General Letitia James has appointed William Fitzpatrick, Onondaga County’s district attorney, as special prosecutor in the investigation of Robert Brooks’ death, according to a Thursday statement from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Corrections officers at Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County beat Brooks, then a 43-year-old inmate, to death in December. He was beaten while handcuffed in the prison’s infirmary and was pronounced dead the following day. Body camera video footage showed the officers punching, kicking and choking Brooks while stripping him of his clothes.

Outrage over the video sparked demonstrations, vigils and protests outside Hochul’s office in Manhattan last month.

Brooks was serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault when he died, after pleading guilty in 2017 to stabbing his then-girlfriend multiple times during a physical altercation. Since his death, Hochul has ordered the termination of the officers involved, with 13 people suspended without pay and one person resigning.

“Now that the attorney general has appointed the Onondaga District Attorney as special prosecutor, I expect prosecutors will work expeditiously to bring formal charges and make arrests for the killing of Robert Brooks,” Hochul wrote in the release.

Hochul also appointed a new supervisor of the correctional facility after Brooks’ death. Officials from the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice have confirmed they are reviewing the incident along with the state’s investigation.

Published on January 2, 2025 at 10:38 pm

Contact Henry: hdaley@syr.edu