December 31, 2024
Social Justice Report
NEW YORK – Per a report shared in the Black Westchester eNewspaper written by Damon K. Jones on December 28, 2024, titled Black Law Enforcement Group Demands Action in Death of New York Inmate, Citing Pattern of Inaction reported that Blacks in Law Enforcement of America (BLEA) is demanding immediate criminal prosecution and systemic reform after Robert Brooks died at Marcy Correctional Facility in New York. The organization cites body camera footage that allegedly shows a violent attack on Brooks. In a forceful statement released on December 28, BLEA urged New York Attorney General Letitia James to take "swift and aggressive legal action" against all officers involved in the incident, as well as supervisory staff who, according to the organization, fostered a "toxic culture of brutality" within the facility.
The organization's demands arise amid ongoing criticism of the Attorney General's office. BLEA had previously expressed low confidence in AG James's office after its decision not to indict the New Rochelle police officer involved in the 2023 shooting death of Jarrel Garris, an unarmed Black man experiencing a mental health crisis when police killed him. "This is not just a failure of individual officers—it is an indictment of a corrupt and broken system," said Damon K. Jones, a representative of BLEA. The organization stressed that accountability must reach beyond the officers directly involved, including supervisors, wardens, and commissioners.
BLEA cautioned that anything less than full criminal charges for all levels of involvement would be a "dereliction of duty" by the Attorney General's office and would indicate that "the lives of incarcerated individuals do not matter." This case has attracted national attention to New York's correctional system conditions. BLEA's statement underscored broader concerns about systemic failures in the state's justice system and called for comprehensive reform beyond this case. The organization's criticism of the AG's office seems to be growing, with the Brooks case representing what they perceive as part of a pattern of inadequate responses to cases involving the deaths of Black individuals in custody or during encounters with law enforcement.
Per report BLEA, states "We remind the Attorney General that the eyes of the nation are watching," the statement emphasized, suggesting that the office's handling of the Brooks case could further undermine its credibility with the public and law enforcement reform." To learn more please click the link: https://blackwestchester.com/black-law-enforcement-group-demands-action-in-death-of-new-york-inmate-citing-pattern-of-inaction/
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