On Monday, a correctional officer pleaded guilty to felony manslaughter for the 2024 fatal beating of New York inmate Robert Brooks.
Christopher Walrath appeared before Judge Robert L. Bauer in Oneida County Court to enter his plea. Walrath, 36, is one of six correctional officers charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter after beating Brooks in a medical exam room at Marcy Correctional Facility on December 9.
Walrath answered “yes” to a series of questions posed by Bauer and the prosecutor, including whether he and his co-defendants assaulted Brooks and if he placed the inmate “in a chokehold against departmental policy and procedure.” Walrath also admitted to failing to report the use of force against Brooks, and that the repeated assaults on Brooks eventually led to his death.
Walrath is released on bond on the condition that he commit no new offenses and appear in court when summoned. He’ll be sentenced on August 4.
The New York attorney general’s office released body camera footage late last year, showing officers punching and kicking Brooks while he was handcuffed to an infirmary bed at Marcy Correctional Facility.
In one video, Brooks is seen sitting up while an officer presses his foot against him and two officers punch him. At another point, he is yanked from the bed by his shirt collar and lifted off the ground, his face visibly bloodied.
Political leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, were outraged by the footage, calling it a “brutal attack” and firing the 14 people involved, including correctional officers, sergeants, and a prison nurse.
In February, she charged six correctional officers involved in the beating, including Walrath, Anthony Farina, Mathew Galliher, David Kinglsey, and Michael Mashaw. One name was redacted.
“Robert Brooks should still be alive today,” Hochul stated at the time.
Prior to Walrath’s Monday plea, the five identified men pleaded not guilty to the murder and manslaughter charges in February.
Walrath did not enter a plea on the second-degree murder charge. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
