About ten New York state correctional officers implicated in the death of Robert Brooks, a Black inmate who was savagely beaten in custody, were charged with murder after the incident. One officer, however, faced the court to give his decision on whether he wanted to fight to prove his innocence or not. The plea he entered was NOT what we expected.
Christopher Walrath entered a guilty plea Monday, trading in his murder charge for first-degree manslaughter. The charges came following the release of horrifying surveillance footage showing himself, along with a gang of his colleagues, detaining 43-year-old Robert Brooks. As The Root previously reported, Brooks was in the infirmary at Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County where he was serving a sentence for assault. He had “mechanical restraints” behind his back as he was forcefully placed onto the examination table by correctional officers, the video shows.
Before even being examined, the footage of the incident showed Brooks being punched in the chest, pinned up against the wall and restrained in nearly inhumane positions. Eventually, the officers pinned him down onto the table, pressing their weight on his groin and chest. The scene was so horrid, the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association condemned the video as “incomprehensible.”
Special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick said “several of his internal organs were bruised” along with other critical injuries, per CNN.
“His hyoid bone was fractured. His thyroid cartilage was ripped. He also died as a result of repeated restriction to his airways, causing severe brain damage. And finally, he died by choking on his own blood,” said Fitzpatrick.
Monday, Walrath confessed in court to using a chokehold on Brooks, beating him and striking him in the groin, per CNN’s report. He also confessed to lying about his use of force. His plea agreement swaps out his murder charge for first-degree manslaughter. The charge that still puts him at risk of spending 15 years in prison— longer than Brooks’ sentence.
Walrath is one of six officers who were charged with murder. Another three were charged with manslaughter and one was charged with evidence tampering.