"Shocking"

Guards in the USA beat black inmate: dead!

(Bild: APA/AP)

In a prison in the US state of New York, a black inmate was apparently held down and beaten by several guards hours before his death. Almost three weeks after the inmate's death, the judicial authorities released a video on Friday showing the violence against the inmate. 

According to the attorney general's office, the soundless images were taken from the body camera of one of the prison guards.

Several guards detained inmates
In the video, the white men can be seen carrying the handcuffed African-American man from the outside of the prison to the inside and placing him on a cot. Several of the at least six men hold the inmate down while at least two of the guards beat the man.

It can then be seen how the seated inmate, his face covered in blood, is grabbed by the neck by two guards and leaned against a wall. It is not known what happened before and after the filmed scenes.

The video of the body camera can be seen in this article:

Attorney General: 'Shocking and disturbing'
The images are "shocking and disturbing", said Attorney General Letitia James at a press conference on Friday. They were nevertheless published for reasons of transparency.

Suffocation death after "pressure on neck"
 According to the authorities, the scenes took place on the evening of December 9 in the prison in upstate New York. The 43-year-old inmate Robert Brooks died the following night. According to local media, an initial autopsy revealed that his death was caused by "asphyxiation due to pressure on the throat". Brooks was serving a twelve-year sentence for violent offenses.

The Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, announced last Saturday that 14 prison employees had been dismissed in connection with the violence against Brooks. In the USA, cases of racist violence resulting in death at the hands of the police or other law enforcement officers repeatedly lead to protests and criticism.