ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)--- On Monday, a Capital Region organization called All of Us as well as other groups and elected-officials gathered in front of the Governor's Mansion in Albany.
They called for those involved in the beating of Robert Brooks, including those who didn’t intervene to stop what was happening, to be held accountable.
"They committed a crime, the same way Mr. Brooks may have committed a crime and that’s why he was in jail. They should be in jail for the crime that they committed by taking this young man’s life," said Dr. Carolyn McLaughlin, an Albany County Legislator.
During the rally Mark Mishler, council to state Senator Julia Salazar, read a statement from her calling for the closure of Marcy’s correctional facility.
"Marcy Correctional Facility cannot remain open," said Salazar in the statement. "The brutal killing of Robert Brooks would be more than enough reason to demand the closure of Marcy. However, there have been additional previous reports of unconscionable violence against incarcerated individuals by staff at Marcy and the other DOCCS facilities."
The Attorney General's Office released body-cam video showing some corrections officers beating Brooks and other standing by and watching. Brooks was pronounced dead at a hospital on December 10.
Governor Hochul has directed 14 individuals with alleged involvement to be terminated.
Multiple Investigations are underway, including one from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community supervision.
"The Attorney General is investigating, State Police is investigating, we know the Department of Justice is investigating, the FBI is investigating. Certainly, we're very hopeful appropriate charges will be filed and they will be fully accountable for their actions," said Republican State Senator, Patrick Gallivan.
Gallivan went on to say, "We have to remember there are professionals that do a very difficult job on a day-to-day basis. Not everybody is bad. But at the same time, we have to root out the bad conduct. We have to root out the people that don’t belong doing a very difficult job like this."
