New York officers fatally beating a black prisoner

Numerous Black people have lost their lives as a result of the violence that American police officers have historically threatened to do against them in both public and correctional facilities.

Recently, a video of guards at a jail in New York killing a restrained inmate was released in the American media. The following morning, the black inmate passed away.

A day after the event at Mercy Prison in upstate New York, on December 10, it was announced that the inmate, 43-year-old Robert Brooks, had died.

Following an internal inquiry, 13 cops and a prison nurse implicated in the attack were fired by New York Governor Katie Hatchel.

An investigation into Brooks' death has also been opened by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, and a rights organization has described the footage as "unfathomable."

In the footage, which was made public by the attorney general of New York, Brooks is seen sitting shackled on an examination table while being repeatedly punched in the face and groin by guards.

The videos also show a prison guard putting something in Brooks' mouth before punching him, and another guard hitting him in the stomach with a shoe. At one point, a guard lifts Brooks by the neck before forcing him onto an examination table.

Brooks died a day after the attack. An initial autopsy found the cause of death was asphyxiation from neck compression. It is unclear what initially prompted guards to take Brooks to the prison's medical center.

The Associated Press reported that Brooks was serving a 12-year term for first-degree assault. That same day, he was moved from Mohawk to Mercy.

According to a statement from Brooks' family attorney Elizabeth Mazur, the recordings show how vicious and horrifying the attack was. "He deserved to live, and everyone else incarcerated at Mercy should know they don't have to live in fear of violence from prison guards," Mazur said about Brooks.

After the video was released, New York's governor said he was outraged and horrified by the incident and felt compelled to hold those responsible accountable.

The New York Union of Prison Employees, which represents prison employees, told local media in a statement that "what we witnessed was, to say the least, incomprehensible."

The union went on to say that the incident was not reflective of what prison guards do every day. This comes as the deaths of prisoners due to guard violence in US prisons have been reported many times.

But according to the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) New York chapter, there have been numerous instances of inmates being severely beaten in US prisons.

The event "highlights a culture of violence and lack of accountability for officer misconduct that puts prisoners’ lives at risk," according to a statement released by the group's executive director, Donna Lieberman.

In a report published last year, the independent watchdog New York Corrections Association discovered several accounts of racial prejudice and abuse of inmates, especially Black inmates.