A Watchdog report warned of problems at Marcy Correctional before Robert Brooks’ death

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Body camera footage of the beating of Robert Brooks provided an unflinching look at the brutality at Marcy Correctional, the type of brutality that inmates have faced for years.

In 2022, inspectors from the Correctional Association of New York (CANY) came to Marcy for a routine visit. Marcy was on the “extreme” end of the spectrum, according to executive director Jennifer Scaife.

“Marcy truly stands out among her peers in the state,” Scaife said.

Nonprofit regulator found that approximately 80 percent of the prisoners they interviewed reported being victims of or witnessing verbal, physical or sexual violence. 67 percent admitted that they had been victims of racial violence. Many inmates described the culture of violence meted out by Marcy correctional officers; in one case, an inmate said officers were, quote, “bragging and intimidating us about the number of people they beat or sprayed.”

According to Scaife, Marcy’s management knew there was a problem. CANY recommended that both the Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations and the Office of the Inspector General investigate allegations of abuse; for Scaife it is unclear whether this ever happened.

“I think officials have certainly been aware of the allegations for a long time,” Scaife said.

The AG’s team is currently investigating criminal charges brought against fourteen staff members, including two sergeants, 11 correctional officers and a nurse, only after Brooks’ death. Scaife considers it a tragedy that it took a fatality to shed light on the prison.

Two lawsuits describing events from 2020 these were also warning signs that were ignored in favor of keeping at least three corrections officers in office who were later found to be involved in Brooks’ beating. Sgt. Glenn Trombly and officers Nicholas Anzalone and Anthony Farina were charged in those legal filings with participating in attacks that hospitalized inmates more than four years before the attack on Brooks.

Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Marcy on Monday, announcing new measures she would like to implement across the prison system. Scaife is heartened by the steps taken so far; She said it’s rare for a governor to take responsibility for such prison issues.

The following people have been suspended without pay or have resigned:

1st Sgt. Michael Masha

2nd Sgt. Glenn Trombly

3. Commander Matthew Galliher

4. CO Nicholas Anzalone

5. Commander David Kingsley

6. CO Nicholas Kieffer

7. Commander Robert Kessler

8. Commander Michael Fisher

9. Commander Christopher Walrath

10. WHAT Michael together

11. CO Shea Schoff

12. Commander David Walters

13. Nurse Kyle Dashnaw

14. CO Anthony Farina (resignation prior to suspension/termination)