FIRST TESTIMONY AGAINST PRISON GUARDS WHO KILLED ROBERT BROOKS
'YOU CAN SEE OFFICER DAVID KINGLSEY APPLYING PRESSURE TO THE I/I'S NECK,' INVESTIGATOR RYAN PAPARELLA TESTIFIES. KINGSLEY 'LIFTS HIM BY THE NECK MULTIPLE TIMES'
(1) David J. Kingsley II choking Robert Brooks and restraining him so other prison guards can punch and kick him; (2) Kingsley (l) in the corner with two other guards pressing Brooks’ neck on the edge of a concrete window ledge, which appears to finally kill Brooks; (3) Kinglsey. Photo credit: body camera video courtesy of the New York Attorney General’s office.
EXCLUSIVE
Jan. 2, 2025
Investigator Ryan Paparella offered the first testimony against the New York State prison guards accused of killing of inmate Robert Brooks in a special State Supreme Court hearing to disarm one of the alleged killers on Thursday.
Paparella testified that David J. Kingsley II was the Correction Officer seen in body camera video killing Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9.
"You can see Officer David Kingsley applying pressure to the I/I's neck," Paparella testified under oath. "You can see him hold him by his neck while other guards inflict blows." He "lifts him by the neck multiple times."
"I/I" refers to "Incarcerated Individual," the term the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, or DOCCS, uses for prisoners.
Referring to a later portion of the video, Paparella testified it shows Kingsley "put the I/I against the wall while he's holding him off his feet."
Kingsley was part of an all-white gang of guards at Marcy that beat, kicked and choked Brooks, a 43-year-old Black-American, to death, the body camera video shows. It was made public by Attorney General Letitia James last Friday.
Court records confirm preliminary findings by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner confirm Brooks' death was caused by "asphyxia due to compression of the neck."
Paparella is an investigator for the Office of Special Investigations, the equivalent of a police internal affairs unit within DOCCS. Paparella testified he's worked at OSI for "about four years." He explained OSI investigates "various types of misconduct withing correctional facilities across the State of New York."
Investigator Paparella's testimony turned dramatic when he revealed it was his personal experience working at Marcy that allowed him to identify the Correction Officers in the video. Before working for OSI, he was a Correction Officer at Marcy and worked beside some of the same guards accused of killing Brooks for five years.
"I was a Correctional Officer and I was previously employed at Marcy Correctional Facility," he testified.
That means the accused officers are Paparella’s former colleagues, maybe even old friends.
Ryan Paparella, lead detective in the investigation of the killing of Robert Brooks by prison guards, leaving court Thursday morning after testifying against one of them, David J. Kingsley II, in a court case brought to disarm him. Photo credit: JB Nicholas.
Paparella's testimony was part of a special court proceeding filed under New York's Red Flag gun law to disarm Kingsley. It was initiated by State Police and lawyers from the Attorney General’s office in Jefferson County, where Kingsley lives, on Dec. 24. The law allows a person to be disarmed if its proven there is "probable cause to believe that respondent is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to self or others."
On Dec. 24, Supreme Court justice William F. Ramseier issued a court order finding "Kingsley, a NYS Corrections Officer, participated in the physical assault of Robert L. Brooks, a NYS DOCCS inmate, which resulted in the death of Brooks."
Based on that finding, Justice Ramseier also found "probable cause to believe" Kingsley "is likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to others" and ordered Kingsely temporarily disarmed on an emergency basis pending a final hearing.
Justice Ramseier's probable cause determination is the first judicial confirmation that Brooks was, in fact, killed by guards at Marcy.
The purpose of Thursday morning's hearing was to give Kingsley a chance to rebut the allegations made by Paparella and the State. But Kingsley did not appear at the hearing and no lawyer appeared on his behalf.
State Police Investigator Joe Simpson also testified. He said he went to Kinglsey's home and served him with a court notice of the hearing. When Simpson asked Kingsley to sign an acknowledgement form, he refused.
"He actually wrote 'Refused' in the section where his signature was," Simpson testified.
After the testimony, the Attorney General’s office asked Justice Ramseier to convert the temporary disarmament order he issued on Dec. 24 into a permament one that lasts up to a year long . Because neither Kingsley or a lawyer for him appeared in court, the State’s request was unopposed.
Attempts to reach Kingsley by telephone were not successful and a voicemail invitation left for him to comment was not returned.
Justice Ramseier reserved decision on the Attorney General's request to finalize the disarmament order.
"The Court will review" the evidence "and issue a written decision as quickly as possible," Justice Ramseier said before adjourning.
Outside the courthouse, Investigator Paparella refused to discuss the case. He didn’t have to. The wide smile he flashed said it all.
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