New York State has agreed to pay a $24 million settlement to the family of Robert Brooks, who was beaten to death by Department of Corrections officers while in custody at an upstate prison, state officials said.
“No family should ever have to endure what the family of Robert Brooks has been through,” Governor Hochul said in a statement Friday. “Every individual who enters a DOCCS facility deserves to be safe, and I am committed to continuing to do everything in my power to ensure our correctional facilities are fully reformed and safe for all.”
The settlement is expected to resolve several lawsuits filed by Brooks’ family, including a civil rights lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court in Albany, according to a Times Union report.
The $24 million payout is the highest settlement on record in New York for a civil rights lawsuit stemming from a person’s death while in custody in state prison, according to state Sen. Julia Salazar (D – Brooklyn/Queens), who said it may also be the highest in the nation’s history.
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