WILL A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR BE APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE THE KILLING OF ROBERT BROOKS BY A PRISON GUARD BEAT-UP SQUAD?
ATTORNEY GENERAL LETITIA JAMES IS ALREADY DEFENDING THE LEADER OF THE PRISON GUARD ‘BEAT-UP SQUAD’ ACCUSED OF KILLING ROBERT BROOKS AGAINST A LAWSUIT ACCUSING HIM OF CHOKING, BEATING ANOTHER PRISONER
Video released by New York State Attorney General Letitia James captures an all-white state prison “beat-up squad” killing Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility, Dec. 9, 2024.
Dec. 27, 2024
What did she know and when did she know it?
That's the question New York State Attorney General Letitia James is facing after The Free Lance reported on Thursday that James's office is already defending the leader of the prison guard “beat-up squad” accused of killing Robert Brooks on Dec. 10 against a federal lawsuit alleging the same squad beat and choked another prisoner at the same state prison in 2020.
James’s office is also defending a member of the beat-up squad who, like the squad’s alleged leader, is also accused of participating in Brooks’ killing.
It's a highly unusual twist legal experts say will complicate James' investigation of Brooks' killing because the civil lawsuit against the two alleged beat-up squad guards remains pending in Federal District Court.
"You can't do that," legendary criminal defense lawyer Ron Kuby told The Free Lance on Friday. "Not even the great and mighty Letitia James can do that."
Legal expert Daniel Feldman, a Professor of Public Management at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, agreed that at the least James' office would have to stop defending the two officers in the civil case for her criminal investigation and prosecution into the same officers to ethically proceed.
"The first and primary obligation of any attorney general, the vast majority of their work, is to defend state officials like these guards against lawsuits," Feldman said. Given the criminal investigation, James' office would "have to hire outside counsel to represent the officers in the civil lawsuit."
James released graphic video captured by body-worn cameras on Friday of an all white group of state prison guards beating and choking Brooks, who was Black, to death at the Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9. Taken from Marcy to a hospital in nearby Utica, New York, Brooks was declared dead Dec. 10.
"These videos are shocking and disturbing," James said in a virtual news conference before releasing the video.
James vowed her office would conduct an "exhaustive review of the facts and the evidence" while "using every tool at our disposal to ensure that there is transparency and accountability for the events that preceded Mr. Brooks' death."
But James already knew about the beat-up squad at Marcy and she knew it was out-of-control because the federal civil rights lawsuit brought by William Alvarez in 2022 told her so. Sgt. Glenn Trombly was the leader of what Alvarez called the “beat-up squad” at Marcy. C.O Anthony Farina was a member, Alvarez alleged.
Both Trombly and Farina were also involved in killing Brooks, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said in a Dec. 21 news release.
Alvarez filed his lawsuit in 2022. His Amended Complaint alleges Sgt. Trombly, C.O. Farina and three other Marcy guards pepper sprayed Alvarez in the face then punched and kicked him in the face, chest and ribs while he was handcuffed in 2020. They also choked him repeatedly, he said.
Alvarez testified in detail about his claims while sworn to tell the truth under penalty of perjury on Oct. 12, 2023—13 months before Brooks was allegedly killed by Sgt. Trombly's beat-up squad. The testimony came during a discovery “deposition” conducted by Assistant Attorney General Mathew Gallagher.
Alvarez testified that Sgt. Trombly, C.O. Farina and the other C.O.s told him “they were going to kill me. And there was nothing anybody can do about it."
They were “choking me, telling me to shut up.” They choked him "to see if they can stop my breathing," Alvarez testified.
Alvarez detailed the existence of the beat-up squad, its members and that it was led by Sgt. Trombly.
"They have what's called a beat-up squad," Alvarez testified.
"What is a—what is a beat-up squad?," Assistant Attorney General Gallagher asked.
"It's the officers that go around and do—and do the assaults and rough handling the people," Alvarez answered.
When Gallagher asked Alvarez to name members of the beat-up squad, he named Farina, among others. When Gallagher asked him specifically about Trombly, Alvarez answered "he's the sergeant in charge of the beat-up squad, which is the rounds sergeant."
"Did I hear you correctly that Sgt. Trombly is a sergeant in charge of the beat-up squad?," Gallagher clarified.
"Yes," Alvarez clearly answered, to the lawyer representing New York State.
Gallagher and two other lawyers from the Attorney General’s office currently continue to defend Sgt. Trombly and C.O. Farina against Alvarez’s lawsuit.
Kuby, the criminal defense lawyer, and John Jay's Feldman, agreed that Alvarez's revelations about the beat-up squad at Marcy during his 2023 deposition were likely passed up the chain-of-command inside the Attorney General's office to James herself.
"The Attorney General will be aware of both sides of the issue," Feldman said.
Even if she wasn't personally informed, she's still responsible Kuby explained because she's the Attorney General and she "could have easily put out a directive saying if evidence of brutality by state officials is uncovered I want to know about it."
"We're not talking about a slip-and-fall because someone tripped on a crack in a sidewalk on state property," Kuby said. "This an extra-legal murder squad."
Going forward, Kuby said, James' involvement in the investigation and prosecution is problematic because "it gives the defendants an automatic ground to disqualify her."
He added Gov. Kathy Hochul might have to appoint "an actual special prosecutor."
Robert W. Gordon, Stanford University Professor of Law Emeritus, agreed with Kuby that James "should probably ask a special attorney outside the AG’s office’s organization to conduct the investigation."
"One would think," Gordon explained, "that the legal strategy in the two cases might conflict—e.g. if, as defendant, the state wants to argue that the guards involved have good records or were correctly following procedure."
Gov. Hochul and Attorney General James were invited to comment. If they do, they will be included here.
For tips or corrections, The Free Lance can be reached at jasonbnicholas@gmail.com or, if you prefer, thefreelancenews@proton.me.