(LONDON) — Pope Francis has not yet fully recovered from illness, but he is not in danger of losing his life, doctors from Gemelli Hospital said during a press conference on Friday.
Pope Francis was hospitalized with a respiratory tract infection and now has pneumonia in both lungs. He has been hospitalized since last week.
“The pope is fine, but the reason we are here is it has been one week in the hospital,” doctors said in English, saying that Francis is 88 years old and mortal, but adding he has retained his humor in the situation.
The pope was admitted to a hospital last week for “necessary tests” and to continue his ongoing bronchitis treatment, the Vatican said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge temporarily blocked the deportation of eight asylum seekers on Thursday, but the move was too late for one woman who her lawyers believe has already been deported by the Trump administration.
Despite seeking asylum in the United States to escape a violent former partner, according to her legal team, the woman was sent back to Ecuador this week — just hours before a court blocked her deportation — where her lawyers fear she might be killed.
“Plaintiff N.S. fled Ecuador to escape horrific violence and kidnapping by her former partner—a police officer who called her anti-indigenous slurs while raping her, beating her, and holding his gun to her head—and fears that he will kill her if she is removed,” her lawyers wrote in a filing to the court, adding that the woman was held captive by her former partner.
Her rapid removal comes as immigrant advocates raise concerns that the Trump administration is hastily carrying out deportations of migrants while disregarding their asylum claims and in spite of active litigation to stop their removals.
According to court records, the woman entered the U.S. around Jan. 26 and asked for asylum after turning herself in to immigration officials. But as of Wednesday, court records show she had not received a “credible fear” interview, one of the first steps in determining eligibility for asylum.
Her lawyer Keren Zwick, a litigation director at National Immigrant Justice Center, said she has not made contact with the woman since Wednesday evening ahead of the court hearing and believes she is en route to or back in Ecuador where her life is in danger.
“I’m very worried about her wellbeing. She fled because she is facing domestic violence, and she fled a partner who threatened to kill her and held her captive and went looking for her when she tried to escape,” said Zwick “I feel sure that he will continue to do that and if he learns that she’s back in the country I think her life is in danger.”
During Thursday’s hearing, lawyers with the Department of Justice told the court that one of the asylum seekers may have already been in deportation proceedings, Zwick said.
Zwick said that the Department of Homeland Security has been unwilling to provide information about the state of her clients removal or intervene to stop the deportation.
“Their agency is not being helpful,” she said. “We haven’t been able to get clear information.”
DHS declined to comment or confirm if N.S. was deported to Ecuador.
A DOJ attorney representing the case did not respond to a request for comment.
As the Trump administration rapidly scales up deportation efforts, immigration advocates have criticized the administration for steamrolling removals with little regard for pending lawsuits or attempts to claim asylum.
In a separate case last week, the Trump administration deported three men to Venezuela just one day after a court order blocked their transfer to Guantanamo Bay. In other legal cases, the Trump administration has been accused of intentionally violating court orders.
“If we’re living in a world where the U.S. government thinks it’s okay to remove a person and asylum seekers … without giving them any opportunity to pursue protection, that’s just a complete subversion of our asylum,” Zwick said.
While today’s court order came too late to prevent what Zwick and her team say is a deportation, lawyers for asylum seekers will return to court next week to fight against their imminent removal to countries including Afghanistan, Ecuador, Brazil, and Egypt where their lawyers say they fear they’ll face persecution or violence.
The request to block the deportation of the eight asylum seekers is linked to an ongoing lawsuit the ACLU and other groups filed against the Trump administration earlier this month, challenging the president’s invocation of a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that authorizes the president to “suspend the entry of all aliens” when their entry “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
The eight asylum seekers who brought the case come from different home countries but each fear the same outcome if they are removed from the U.S.
According to court records, two plaintiffs fled Afghanistan due to fears that the Taliban might persecute them over their support for the United States. One plaintiff said they suffered kidnapping, rape and torture by the hands of a Ecuadorian cartel before fleeing to the United States. Another said they were jailed and tortured in Egypt due to their pro-democracy views.
“There is no legitimate governmental or public interest in the unlawful removal of the Individual Plaintiffs to countries where they face persecution or torture,” lawyers for the asylum seekers argued.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — The number of measles cases linked to an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 90, according to new data released on Friday.
Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, and 16 people have been hospitalized so far, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Five cases included those who have been vaccinated.
A DSHS spokesperson previously told ABC News that this marks the largest measles outbreak in the state in more than 30 years.
Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases with 51, followed by 26 cases among children ages 4 and under.
Gaines County is the epicenter of the outbreak, with 57 cases confirmed among residents, according to DSHS. State health data shows the number of vaccine exemptions in the county have grown dramatically.
Roughly 7.5% of kindergarteners had parents or guardians who filed for an exemption for at least one vaccine in 2013. Ten years later, that number rose to more than 17.5% — one of the highest in all of Texas, according to state health data.
Meanwhile, in neighboring New Mexico, at least nine cases have been confirmed in Lea County, which borders Texas, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health told ABC News on Friday.
Similarly to the local outbreaks, all of the nationally confirmed cases are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles up to nine out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the CDC.
Health officials have been urging anyone who isn’t vaccinated to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) shot.
The CDC currently recommends people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective.
(TEL AVIV) — Israeli police are responding to a suspected terror attack on buses near Tel Aviv, the Israeli Police Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement Thursday evening.
The two buses where bombs exploded were empty and in separate parking lots about 500 meters apart from each other, the mayor of Bat Yam, where the incident occurred, said. Bat Yam is on Israel’s southern coast and is just south of Tel Aviv.
There are no injuries from the explosions, police said.
“Multiple reports have been received of explosions involving several buses at different locations in Bat Yam. Large police forces are at the scenes, searching for suspects. Police bomb disposal units are scanning for additional suspicious objects,” the Israeli Police Spokesperson’s Unit said.
Police urged the public to avoid the areas and remain alert for any suspicious items.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Nineteen states from Nebraska to Florida are facing cold weather alerts on Friday morning as a relentless Arctic blast persists — but a warmup is finally on the way.
Friday marks the fourth morning in a row of record-low temperatures across the central U.S.
Cities across the Plains and the South broke or tied their record-low temperatures on Friday: Lincoln, Nebraska, at negative 17 degrees; Kansas City, Missouri, at negative 5 degrees; Memphis, Tennessee, at 15 degrees; and Birmingham, Alabama, at 17 degrees.
The warmup will begin this weekend across the Heartland and the South, with temperatures climbing to the 50s in Kansas City and 60s in Austin by Sunday. By next week, Kansas City will reach the 60s and Austin will warm up to the 70s.
The mild weather will even reach the north.
By Monday, Chicago could warm up to close to 50 degrees. By Tuesday, New York City could climb to 50 degrees and Washington, D.C., could rise to the balmy 60s.
(WASHINGTON) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a jab at President Donald Trump after Canada’s victory over the United States in an international hockey tournament on Thursday.
“You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game,” Trudeau wrote on X.
Canada bested the United States 3-2 with an overtime goal to win the 4 Nations Face-Off at TD Garden in Boston. Participating teams included NHL hockey stars from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States.
The highly-anticipated final came after a fiery clash between Canada and the U.S. in an earlier game on Feb. 15 where several fights broke out in the opening seconds of the first period. The U.S. won that game 3-1.
Tensions are boiling over on the diplomatic front between the U.S. and Canada, as Trump frequently says he wants to make Canada the 51st state. He’s repeatedly referred to Trudeau as “governor” instead of prime minister
Trump’s also threatening high tariffs on Canada, the second largest trading partner to the U.S. The implementation of a 25% tariff against Canada and Mexico was paused for a month, pulling the U.S. back from a trade war with its neighbors.
Earlier in the tournament, fans in Montreal booed the U.S. national anthem before Team USA’s first game against Finland.
Trump called Team USA before Thursday night’s championship game.
He said he wanted to “spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.”
Trump said because of a prior commitment — a gathering of Republican governors in Washington — he couldn’t attend the game in Boston.
“But we will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome. Good luck to everybody, and have a GREAT game tonight. So exciting!” he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump also shared a video on Truth Social from ESPN showing part of his call to the players.
“Just go out and have a good time tonight. I just want to wish you a lot of luck. You really are a skilled group of people. It’s an honor to talk to you and get out there, and there’s no pressure whatsoever,” Trump told them, prompting some laughs from the players.
(WASHINGTON) — With Hamas saying it will release more hostages this weekend, President Donald Trump has yet to weigh in, as he did last week ahead of the planned Saturday hostage release threatening “all hell is going to break out” if all hostages weren’t freed by his deadline.
Last week, Trump demanded that if Hamas didn’t release “all of the hostages” by noon last Saturday, Feb. 15, Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas might end, although he wasn’t clear whether he was suggesting the U.S. or Israel would act in response.
His deadline came and went, and Hamas released the three hostages that were scheduled to be released on Feb. 15, including one American, according to the original ceasefire agreement, in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Experts told ABC News that Trump’s comments made little or no difference in Saturday’s outcome.
“Trump’s threat wasn’t much of an ultimatum, since Hamas was not about to release all of the hostages on Saturday under any scenario,” said Guy Ziv, associate professor at American University’s School of International Service.
On the heels of this exchange, Hamas released the bodies of four Israeli hostages early Thursday morning, though the Israel Defense Forces later said one of bodies does not belong to a hostage.
What was the context
“As far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock, I think it’s an appropriate time. I would say, cancel it and all bets are off, and let hell break out,” Trump said last week. “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it. But from myself, Saturday at 12 o’clock, and if they’re not, they’re not here, all hell is going to break out.”
The president’s threats came after Hamas unexpectedly announced last week that it was delaying the next hostage release, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that violated the ceasefire deal. He later demanded all nine living Israeli hostages, who were supposed to be released during Phase 1 of the ceasefire deal, be released in the next few days, an Israeli official told ABC News last week.
When asked last week about Trump’s deadline and what he meant with his threat, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff did not go into detail but told “CBS Mornings,” “I would take President Trump at his word. He generally means what he says … so, I don’t think it’s a tactic.”
These exchanges also came a week after the announcement of Trump’s Gaza plan, in which the president expressed his desire to “take over” the Gaza Strip, relocate Palestinians, and redevelop the land. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres had responded to this plan, saying “it is essential to avoid any form of ethnic cleansing.”
The deadline passes
Following the release of the hostages last Saturday, Trump turned to his social media platform to say it was up to Israel on how to move forward.
“Israel will now have to decide what they will do about the 12:00 O’CLOCK, TODAY, DEADLINE imposed on the release of ALL HOSTAGES,” he wrote on Saturday. “The United States will back the decision they make!”
Early Sunday morning, after a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Netanyahu emphasized his “cooperation and coordination” with Trump.
“We have a common strategy,” he said, “including when the gates of hell will be open, as they surely will, if all our hostages are not released until the last one of them.”
On Sunday, Trump told reporters, “I told Bibi, you do whatever you want because, you know my statement was they got to come back. Now, the reason I made that statement was because they said they weren’t gonna deliver — they were not going to deliver the people that they said they were going to deliver, that they agreed to deliver.”
“When I made the statement, they delivered everybody, plus an American,” Trump touted, appearing to take credit. In reality, the three hostages released Saturday were part of the ongoing ceasefire deal, including the release of American Sagui Dekel Chen on Feb. 15.
National security adviser Mike Waltz repeated the president’s sentiment during a press briefing Thursday.
“And when President Trump sent a very clear message across the Middle East, but particularly to Hamas, that there would be all hell to pay, we suddenly saw a breakthrough,” Waltz said.
But Trump’s claims should not be considered the final word, says one expert.
“World leaders have learned to heavily discount the words of Donald Trump,” Brian Katulis, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told ABC News. Katulis noted additional examples of the president’s past comments that he says are filled with “hot air,” including Trump’s assertion that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war in one day.
Threatening ‘hell’ for months
In fact, Trump has been threatening Hamas with “hell” for months.
In early December, Trump wrote on his social media platform that “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East” if hostages were not released prior to his Inauguration day, and that “those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America.”
“If they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East,” Trump repeated in January when asked about the status of the hostage deal.
“All hell will break out,” he continued. “I don’t have to say any more, but that’s what it is.”
Trump’s language has been echoed by aides and supporters.
Appearing on Fox News in December, Trump senior adviser Jason Miller warned, “I would take him literally at his word. They will have hell to pay.”
Though he declined to go into specifics, Miller was confident that the president was “very serious on this one.”
One day before Trump’s inauguration, House Speaker Mike Johnson said “there will be hell to pay for Hamas if they violate these terms.”
Experts remain skeptical of Trump’s threats, despite their repetition throughout the past few months.
“The real hell that’s broken loose is the hell of confusion that comes from Trump’s erratic public statements here. It serves really no purpose,” Katulis said, arguing that “the real threat doesn’t come from Trump’s mouth, it comes from the weapons and bombs that Israel has.”
“Some have likened Trump’s coercive diplomacy to what [President Richard] Nixon called his ‘Madman Theory,'” Ziv said. “Trump wants other leaders to believe that he’s willing to do anything, that nothing can restrain him from achieving his objectives.”
(WASHINGTON) — As the IRS fired thousands of workers across the country on Thursday, many laid-off employees walked out of the headquarters in Washington, D.C., for the last time.
One fired IRS worker, who exited the building with a heavy suitcase and stuffed duffle bag, told ABC News he was originally hired to make the IRS more efficient.
“I was brought in to do data analytics and automation,” he said, adding that his colleagues were “surprised and hurt” since the “understanding was that I was brought in to make things more efficient” and the government would retain people with his technical skill set.
He said his job “modernized” IRS data infrastructure and streamlined compliance work, noting the irony in that the stated mission of the federal workforce cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is precisely to make the government more efficient.
Sources told ABC News the IRS is expected to lay off more than 6,000 probationary employees across the country starting Thursday — about 6% of the total IRS workforce. One source familiar with the matter told ABC News more than 100 people are being fired across the Washington offices, including more than 60 terminated from IRS headquarters.
However, the layoffs are expected nationwide, with hundreds expected in Texas, New York, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.
When asked whether he thought the firings would affect this tax filing season, the fired worker said: “You can only imagine with so many people being let go and so much information and potential being lost that people probably can expect disturbances.”
“I wish there was more thought put into the long-term impact that some of these decisions will have on not just the American taxpayers but the American people,” he added.
He said he’s worked in a variety of industries, including doing nanotechnology research, biotechnology research and engineering, but that he felt the most motivation and mission while working for the federal government.
Another IRS employee who was wiping away tears described the impact she believed this will have on the future of the IRS. While she still has a job, she said these layoffs are “gutting” the IRS and will mean less enforcement and fewer people to respond to concerns from taxpayers.
She also noted that much of the IRS workforce is older and near retirement age. The probationary workers who were recently hired included the “best and the brightest” who represented the future of the IRS, she said, adding that all of that is now being taken away.
Another fired IRS worker told ABC News he was just three weeks shy of no longer being a probationary employee. He disputed Musk’s and Trump’s claims that the firings are improving efficiency.
“I know that the people that I have worked with … work really hard, and so … if you’re measuring efficiency by productivity, certainly not. If you’re measuring efficiency by morale, absolutely not,” he said. “I accepted this role in order to help our country fight bad guys.”
(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s team is working on an updated agreement between Ukraine and the United States for Ukraine to agree to give the U.S. revenue from some of Ukraine’s most valuable resources, a Ukrainian official told ABC News.
A U.S. official with knowledge of the negotiations said a new version of the deal between the two countries has been put on the table.
The document currently on the table is a work in progress after the Trump administration initially proposed Ukraine provide the U.S. government with 50% of the revenue from some of its key resources, including minerals, oil, gas and ports a week ago, according to a draft document reviewed by ABC News and a Ukrainian official familiar with the matter.
The proposal hanging between the two countries comes at a critical time in the U.S. and Ukraine’s relationship under the Trump administration and an even more critical time in the almost three-year war since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy’s team was presented with the initial document with almost no warning when U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent visited Kyiv on Feb. 12, prompting widespread criticism that the Trump administration was seeking to strong-arm the country into an exploitative deal, a Ukrainian official said. The purported original draft document, reviewed by ABC News, contained no mention of future security guarantees for Ukraine, suggesting the country should give up access to its resources as payback for the American aid already rendered.
That document was obtained by ABC News from a Ukrainian source.
After Zelenskyy refused to sign the initial deal, Trump escalated criticisms, calling him a “dictator” and questioning his legitimacy as Ukraine’s leader, echoing talking points of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy has held his ground, both thanking the U.S. for continued support and saying that he believes Trump is living in a “disinformation space.”
“I told them to show the security guarantees, and then we talk about the percentage. They said 50% and I replied NO. I can’t sell the country off. I’m just a manager. Tomorrow, the country will have another manager, so I can’t sell it. Besides, around 20% of resources are in Russia-occupied territory,” Zelenskyy said during a press conference Wednesday.
During the meeting between Trump’s Special Envoy to Ukraine, Russian Gen. Keith Kellogg and Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday, the two discussed the proposal again, a Ukrainian official said. After the meeting with Kellogg, Zelenskyy’s team is now working on an updated agreement, a Ukrainian official told ABC News.
A proposed agreemen
A couple of hours before Zelenskyy met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Kyiv on Feb. 12, a proposed agreement from the U.S. asking Ukraine to agree to give the U.S. 50% of the revenue from some of its most valuable natural resources was sent over. Zelenskyy and his team had almost no time to review the document, but they were asked to sign it during the meeting that day, a Ukrainian official told ABC News.
The official said Zelenskyy refused.
Zelenskyy was due to meet two days later with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Munich, Germany. But after Zelenskyy sent a revised proposal ahead of the meeting, Vance and Rubio threatened to cancel it, a Ukrainian official said. Zelenskyy’s team asked them to read it first, the official said, and the meeting eventually went ahead. A U.S. official familiar with the discussions denied these details.
An alleged draft document, reviewed by ABC News, of the initial proposal from the U.S. government dated Feb. 7 requests the U.S. government receive “50% of the financial value received” by the government of Ukraine from “resources of Ukraine, including: mineral resources, oil and gas resources, ports” and “other infrastructure (as agreed),” the draft document states. A U.S. official familiar with the matter said these details align with the US’s initial proposal to Ukraine.
The alleged draft document, at the top, states the U.S. “has provided significant financial and material support to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022.”
“We won’t confirm or deny terms of ongoing discussions. These discussions work best between the interested parties, not through the media,” a White House official said when asked about the authenticity of the document.
Trump has since slammed Zelensky for not signing the deal, on Wednesday accusing the Ukrainian President of treating Treasury Secretary Bessent rudely during his visit, claiming without evidence that Zelensky had kept Bessent waiting because he was “sleeping.”
Trump officials on Thursday also defended the deal and said the President was “frustrated” that Zelenskyy was refusing to agree to what they called a “historic opportunity.”
“Look, President Trump is obviously very frustrated right now with President Zelenskyy. The fact that he hasn’t come to the table, that he hasn’t been willing to take this opportunity that we have offered. I think he eventually will get to that point, and I hope so very quickly.” Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said Thursday at a White House briefing.
“There can be, in my view, nothing better, for Ukraine’s future and for their security than to have the United States invested in their prosperity long term,” Waltz said.
It was unclear what changes the Ukrainian side had proposed during their discussions with Kellogg on Thursday.
Body-worn camera footage from correctional officers at the Marcy Correctional Facility released by the New York Attorney General’s Office.
(NEW YORK) — Ten former prison guards were indicted for the killing of Robert Brooks, a prisoner incarcerated at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York, who was fatally beaten at the prison in December.
A grand jury indicted six officers — Nicholas Anzalone, David Kingsley, Anthony Farina, Christopher Walrath, Mathew Galliher and an unnamed defendant — on felony second degree murder and first degree manslaughter.
The nine defendants charged in the indictment appeared in court on Thursday and all pled not guilty to the charges brought against them. A tenth, unnamed defendant was unavailable to surrender on Thursday and is expected to be arraigned soon. He is not believed to be a flight risk.
The officers are accused of acting with other correctional officers in conduct that “created a grave risk of death to another person, and thereby caused the death of Robert Brooks,” according to a criminal indictment.
Brooks was transferred from the Mohawk Correctional Facility to the Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9, 2024.
Excerpts of body-worn camera footage from four corrections officers were released Dec. 27 by the New York Attorney General’s Office showing the in-custody beating of the 43-year-old inmate.
In the footage reviewed by ABC News, multiple officers can be seen holding Brooks upright on an exam table, with his arms restrained, punching and kicking him in the face, torso and genitals. The beating was described in a deposition by an investigator for the New York Department of Corrections Office of Special Investigations.
Brooks was pronounced dead at a local hospital the day after the beating, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office is investigating the incident.
The deposition detailed that two sergeants and a nurse watched the attack and neglected to intervene. They were among the 14 prison staffers whom New York Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered to be terminated by the state.
The indictment Thursday said Brooks was allegedly assaulted on two occasions when he arrived at the infirmary by Anzalone, Walrath and the unnamed defendant — despite being restrained.
Upon arriving to the emergency room of the infirmary, Brooks was “restrained, beaten, choked, gagged, forcibly moved and kicked, all with minimal resistance on the part of Mr. Brooks and with no legitimate law enforcement purpose,” the indictment alleges.
Beating and assaults were carried out by the defendants while acting in concert together, the indictment said.
“In addition to the beatings, defendants with depraved indifference, did nothing to restrain each other, did nothing to stop the beatings and failed to immediately order medical assistance for Mr. Brooks,” the indictment said.
Brooks suffered injuries to his head, neck, hyoid bone, thyroid cartilage, torso, liver, spleen and testicles, his air passages were restricted and he chocked on his own blood, resulting in his death, according to the indictment.
Michael Mashaw, Michael Fisher and David Walters were indicted on felony second degree manslaughter. Nicholas Gentile was charged with tampering with physical evidence.
Walrath and the unnamed defendant were also indicted on felony second degree gang assault.
Mashaw, who was the ranking corrections officer in the infirmary, is accused in the indictment of failing to order the beatings to stop and not getting Brooks medical assistance until it was too late to save him.
Fisher and Walters are accused of having a clear line of sight to Brooks, but failing to attempt to stop the beatings or shield him. Walters also allegedly instructed a nurse no not enter the emergency room where Brooks was, the indictment said.
Anzalone and the unnamed defendant are accused of offering a false statement with intent to defraud the state. They wrongfully reported that all force against Brooks ceased when he entered the emergency room of the infirmary, the indictment alleges. The defendants were not aware that their actions were being recorded, according to the indictment.
“Nothing can bring him back to us. Nothing can return to us what these men have taken away. Still, these indictments are a necessary and important step toward accountability. These men killed my father, on camera. All the world could see what happened. Waiting for these charges has been incredibly hard,” Robert Brooks, Jr., the son of Brooks, said in a statement Thursday.
“These men must be fully prosecuted and convicted for what they have done. But even the convictions of these corrections officers for the murder of my father will not be enough. Every person in authority who allowed this system of violence and abuse to exist and continue for so long must also be held accountable,” he said.
The New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association issued a statement in December reading, “What we witnessed is incomprehensible to say the least and is certainly not reflective of the great work that the vast majority of our membership conducts every day… This incident has the potential to make our correctional facilities even more violent, hostile, and unpredictable than ever before.”
