‘He deserved to live’; Family files lawsuit in death of Robert Brooks and shares memories

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Family of Robert Brooks filing civil lawsuit

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The family of Robert Brooks, the Greece man who died the day after corrections officers beat him at Marcy Correctional Facility, has filed a federal civil lawsuit.

Brooks’ son and brother shared memories of him at a news conference on Wednesday, joined by attorneys. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, lists 17 employees at the correctional facility as the defendants. You can watch the full news conference here:

“Mr. Brooks was paying his debt to society. He deserved to live. He deserved the opportunity to finish his sentence and return to his family and his community,” attorney Elizabeth Mazur said.

At the conference, Robert Brooks Jr. described his father’s love for making music and writing short stories. Brooks Jr. said he will continue making music in memory of his father.

“He wanted to make sure that everybody was happy around him. That’s what made him happy,” Brooks Jr. said.

Brooks Jr. said he would speak regularly with his father while he was serving his sentence, who dreamed of a new life when he got out.

“Those officers and the system they work for, they robbed us of that opportunity. And I will never get my father back. They have taken him from me forever. But we will not allow his death to be in vain. This pain must lead to justice for my father,” he said.

Body-worn camera video shows corrections officers beating Brooks in a medical exam room at the correctional facility in Oneida County on Dec. 9. Brooks died the next day in the hospital. Brooks Jr. said that, as difficult as the video was to watch, he hopes the video sparks change.

“I felt helpless, like I was there with him and there was nothing I could do,” Brooks Jr. said.

Jared Ricks said his brother, Robert Brooks, was his role model. He shared his memories of going bowling, shopping, and joining his brother in the recording studio.

“As an older brother should, he was always there when I needed him. My first words were ‘rah, rah’ for Robert. He was my role model, my voice of reason, my listening ear, and now he’s gone,” he said.

Ricks said his brother had served eight of the 12 years that he was sentenced to but the corrections officers involved in the beating “gave him a death sentence.”

“People who are incarcerated are human beings. They have rights. They deserve to live without fear that something like this can happen to them,” he said.

Attorneys will also file a separate action in the New York Court of Claims, since the state cannot be sued in federal court for civil rights violations or wrongful death.

Seventeen employees at Marcy Correctional Facility have been suspended without pay or have resigned since Brooks’ death. That includes two nurses.

So far, there have been no criminal charges. The Onondaga County district attorney is the special prosecutor in the investigation into Brooks’ death, since the State Attorney General’s Office recused itself. That’s because lawyers from the AG’s Office were already representing four of the involved corrections officers on separate matters.

Robert Brooks (provided photo)

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