By Colin Benjamin
Photos: Facebook\Body-Cam\Office Of New York Attorney General
Didn’t New York, and the world, just witness a brutal cold-blooded murder inside the medical facility (imagine that) of a New York prison?
This is the question many are asking (and some answering in the affirmative) after viewing video released by the Office of The New York Attorney General, showing the slow-motion snuff killing of Robert L. Brooks, 43, on December, 9th inside the Marcy Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York. The video footage documenting Brooks’ brutal beating death is reminiscent of a ritualized lynching by an unrestrained white mob.
These prison officials behaved like the White Klan nightriders they were spawned from in taking the life of another Black man while using the “color of law” to do it.
Moving into 2025, Black lives remain under daily threat by “law enforcement” barbarians. When police aren’t the ones killing us, it is those inside America’s violent “correctional” facilities who are doing so. Of course, very little can be corrected in environments where lawless is allowable, particularly by those who run these violence-prone prisons.
Let’s remember this: Robert Brooks was beaten to death while he was handcuffed behind his back, and not resisting at all. Brooks’ death chamber was inside a prison medical infirmary—with medical staff looking on. See the irony?
The videos of Brooks’ killing are so bad the union which represents these killers released a statement condemning the actions of these prison officer predators. When has that ever happened before?
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association said this of the brutal beating death, “What we witnessed is incomprehensible to say the least and is certainly not reflective of the great work that the vast majority of our membership conducts every day.”
Unfortunately, this statement is only partially true. There reason the union is backing away from these white-skinned executioners has nothing to do with humanistic altruism.
The idea this savage beating is somehow an anomaly of the daily reality that occurs in prisons is a lie. The real reason the union has taken this tactical approach is to do damage control—and prevent a wider investigation into the atrocious level of violence that occurs inside prisons, particularly criminality perpetrated by prison guards.
In the aftermath of this killing, we now know a 2022 report found “widespread claims of abuse” at Marcy Correction Facility. Obviously, this report did little to police the behavior of these vicious thugs of the state. Moreover, at least three of these bullies were accused of prior assaults.
Sgt. Glenn Trombly and CO Anthony Farina were named in the disfigurement assault of inmate William Alvarez in 2020. And C.O. Nicholas Anzalone was one of four Marcy prison guards named in a 2020 federal lawsuit for the beating of Adam Bauer. And, in 2015, Sgt. Trombly was linked to an assault of Equarn White.
Here we should ask a few questions.
First, where did the investigations into these earlier abuses lead? Are they still pending? What does it say that a supervisor (Sgt. Trombly) was named in two of these earlier accusations? Shouldn’t the state face serious civil lawsuit consequences since these prison guard gangsters had prior bad acts attached to them and no effective disciplinary action seems to have been taken?
Most of these lynchers of Brooks are in the process of being fired and one resigned. But there have been zero arrests. Ask yourself why the state is slow to arrest the killers and murderers they employ, especially when they kill Black people?
Years ago, we saw legislation calling for the enhancement of penalties for hate crimes. We need similar legislation for law enforcement who kill and murder citizens—not the light tap on the wrist sentences we see in the rare instance when a law enforcement officer is charged with a crime.
Let’s be clear: the killing of Robert Brooks was a depraved act of savage barbarity by officers of the state. These guards are worst that Klan killers because they used the state apparatus to legalize their killing of Robert Brooks.
If not for the videos, these state slayers would be busy at work beating up somebody now. Imagine the other abuses we aren’t seeing.
This killing should lead New Yorkers to demand a comprehensive examination into the violent nature inside New York prisons and jails. Remember what happened to Kalief Browder?
Black New Yorkers, and Black America, must apply maximum pressure to make sure these killers of the state are given long sentences inside prisons like the one where they beat Robert Brooks mercilessly to death.
Editor’s Note: The following prison officers have been named in the brutal beating death of Robert Brooks:
1. CO Matthew Galliher
2. CO Nicholas Anzalone
3. CO David Kingsley
4. Sgt. Michael Mashaw
5. Sgt. Glenn Trombly
6. CO Nicholas Kieffer
7. CO Robert Kessler
8. CO Michael Fisher
9. CO Christopher Walrath
10. CO Michael Along
11. CO Shea Schoff
12. CO David Walters
13. CO Anthony Farina
14. Nurse Kyle Dashnaw
