Res. No. 734

Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, the “Prison Safety is Public Safety: Robert Brooks Transparency & Accountability” Legislative Package.

By Council Members Brewer, Rivera, Banks, Joseph, Brannan, Louis, Riley, Krishnan, Nurse, Williams, Ayala and Sanchez

Whereas, Independent oversight of New York State correctional facilities is exceedingly challenging and the current entities responsible for overseeing and examining these facilities are subject to limitations that complicate investigations and disciplinary actions; and

Whereas, The Marshall Project has found abuse and misconduct at these facilities to be rampant and largely without remedy, owing at least in part to outdated and wholly inadequate disciplinary policies that rarely result in sufficient punitive action against misconduct, thereby allowing abuse to persist; and

Whereas, Reports indicate on December 10, 2024, Robert Brooks, incarcerated at New York’s Marcy Correctional Facility, died after being beaten by multiple corrections officers, in the presence of supervisors and medical staff, none of whom intervened; and

Whereas, The Onondaga County Medical Examiner ruled Robert Brooks’ death was a homicide; and

Whereas, Governor Hochul has called for the arrest and criminal prosecution of those responsible for the “murder” of Robert Brooks, stating the “reprehensible act of violence demands the full force of our justice system”; and

Whereas, Prior to Robert Brooks’ death, the Correctional Association of New York (CANY)-New York State’s independent prison oversight body-reported rampant physical, verbal, and racialized abuse at the Marcy Correctional Facility, as well as numerous other concerns around grievances, material conditions, environmental issues, medical and dental healthcare, mental health, and provision of services; and

Whereas, CANY’s report recommended that the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS)-the state’s administrator of the prison and parole system-Office of Special Investigations (OSI) and the State Inspector General’s Office further investigate their findings; and

Whereas, DOCCS’ initial response to the report highlighted existing programs and education options offered by Marcy, and asserted that allegations of abuse from staff are

“investigated thoroughly and taken very seriously” and the prison is “an example of why New York is a leader in the correction field”; and

Whereas, However, the death of Robert Brooks and at least two pending lawsuits of individuals incarcerated at Marcy describing assaults from correction officers allege abuse at Marcy Correctional Facility ; and

Whereas, Reports of abuse and misconduct and lack of disciplinary action are not unique to Marcy Correctional Facility, and advocates stress that Robert Brook’s death is not a singular event; and

Whereas, City and State found over 260 deaths in the past 25 years in New York State prisons with causes that were not sufficiently reported; and

Whereas, Another investigation from The Marshall Project that looked at 290 cases of abuse or concealment of abuse over the last 15 years at multiple New York correctional facilities found that only 10 percent of officers in those cases were fired; and

Whereas, The Marshall Project’s investigation also uncovered a complete lack of disciplinary actions by the corrections department in many abuse cases, including cases where incarcerated individuals were left severely injured or dead; and

Whereas, Currently, the authority to terminate correction officers found to have engaged in serious misconduct rests with third-party arbitrators and not DOCCS; and

Whereas, Additionally, many of the corrections officers whose terminations were sought by DOCCS in the cases reported by The Marshall Project were reinstated after appealing to private arbitrators; and

Whereas, For the case of Robert Brooks, Governor Hochul took immediate action, including initiating the process for firing of the correction officers, supervisors, and medical staff involved in, or present at the time of, his beating and death; and

Whereas, Although CANY is designed to investigate and report on New York State prison conditions, the treatment of incarcerated persons, and administrative practices, their ability to carry out these responsibilities is restricted due to the provision of a 72 hour advance notice before inspecting a correctional facility, making it impossible for CANY to conduct an unannounced inspection; and

Whereas, There are numerous examples of a lack of adequate disciplinary action in response to cases of abuse and misconduct in New York correctional facilities and the horrific tragedy of Robert Brooks death further emphasizes the need to empower correctional oversight bodies, establish further authority in DOCCS, and create an office to investigate complaints of maladministration; and

Whereas, A package of bills pending in the New York State Legislature, also referred to as the “Prison Safety is Public Safety: Robert Brooks Transparency & Accountability” legislative package, seeks to address the gaps that are leading to failures in preventing abuse and misconduct in New York State correctional facilities; and

Whereas, S.651, introduced by Senator Julia Salazar, and pending in the New York State Senate, and A.3781, introduced by Assembly Member David Weprin, and pending in the New York State Assembly, would amend the correction law, to authorize the correctional association to visit correctional facilities at any time and without advance notice; and

Whereas, S.651/A.3781, would also grant the correctional association access to certain records and information of correctional facilities; and

Whereas, S.651/A.3781 would improve CANY’s ability to perform proper oversight over correctional facilities and would improve the connections between CANY and incarcerated individuals; and

Whereas, S.1671, introduced by Senator Julia Salazar, and pending in the New York State Senate, would amend the correction law and the civil service law, to authorize the commissioner of DOCCS to discipline certain employees for acts of serious misconduct; and

Whereas, S.1671 would also define serious misconduct and establish procedures for disciplinary actions; and

Whereas, S.1671 would place the authority to terminate employees squarely under the purview of DOCCS, instead of third-party arbitrators; and

Whereas, S.1707, introduced by Senator Julia Salazar, and pending in the New York State Senate, would amend the correction law, to create the office of the correctional ombudsperson; and

Whereas, The office would include investigators and monitors, and would be responsible for public oversight of the internal affairs and disciplinary process within DOCCS; and

Whereas, The office of the correctional ombudsperson would also have authority to review policies and practices within DOCCS and all local jails; and

Whereas, S.1707 also amends the executive law to authorize the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute criminal offenses committed by a DOCCS employee; andWhereas, Robert Brooks’ murder emphasizes the terrifying reality of the New York State correctional system, where abuse and misconduct run rampant and staff perpetrating this violence are not held accountable for their actions; and

Whereas, Moving forward from this atrocity requires significant change to the correctional system to ensure that claims of abuse are taken seriously, prison’s reporting is more transparent, and staff are disciplined appropriately; and

Whereas, This package of bills should be the first step in many to prevent more violence from occurring in the correctional system and prevent another tragedy from befalling an incarcerated individual and their family; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State

Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, the “Prison Safety is Public Safety: Robert Brooks Transparency & Accountability” Legislative Package.

LS #18799

2/4/2025

RLB