SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The family of Robert Brooks will hold a news conference Monday in Rochester to discuss what it calls an “historic settlement” in their lawsuit against the state of New York following Brooks’s December 2024 fatal beating by correctional officers at Marcy Correctional Facility.
A letter sent to a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Binghampton says Brook’s family has reached an agreement through the Court of Claims, but the monetary amount was not mentioned. State Senator Julia Salazar (D) confirms the more than $10 million dollar settlement in a statement released.
“Mr. Brooks was brutally and sadistically murdered by more than a dozen State prison employees, who either directly engaged in the killing or failed to intervene. Today’s settlement is a recognition by the State of New York that it completely and utterly failed to stop this preventable tragedy. While nothing we do will bring Mr. Brooks back or ease the pain experienced by his loved ones, I hope this settlement provides the Brooks family with a semblance of comfort… “, she said in her statement.
Bodycam video revealed officers punching, kicking and grabbing Brooks by the neck on Dec. 9, 2024. The beating occurred the same day Brooks, of Rochester, was transferred from Mohawk Correctional Facility to Marcy Correctional Facility. He died the next day at 43 years old. Brooks was serving a 12-year sentence for assault after he was convicted of stabbing his girlfriend in Greece, near Rochester. His release was scheduled for 2026.
10 corrections officers were charged in total for the crime.
The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision released the following statement when news of the settlement revealed:
“Our thoughts remain with the family of Robert Brooks. We recognize that no resolution can undo the pain of his loss, but we hope this agreement provides the family with some measure of closure. The events surrounding Mr. Brooks’s death represent a dark and painful chapter in the history of our Department. Those responsible have been criminally prosecuted, and DOCCS remains committed to learning from what happened and taking meaningful steps to ensure that it is never repeated. We now look ahead, guided by the Department’s vision of a people-centered system where staff, incarcerated individuals, and visitors are treated with dignity, respect, and humanity. As we move forward, that vision will guide the department and continue to shape impactful reforms.”
Governor Kathy Hochul also released a statement, saying:
“No family should ever have to endure what the family of Robert Brooks has been through. The senseless killing of Mr. Brooks by those charged with protecting him horrified us all. While I am grateful for law enforcement and the District Attorney’s efforts to hold the perpetrators accountable, there is nothing that can erase the pain the Brooks family has endured. It is my hope that this agreement will provide them with some measure of relief in the aftermath of his loss.Robert Brooks should be alive today. Every individual who enters a DOCCS facility deserves to be safe, and I am committed to continuing to do everything in my power to ensure our correctional facilities are fully reformed and safe for all.I want to send a message loud and clear: We have zero tolerance for anyone who violates their oath by committing an act of violence or putting the safety of others at risk.”