By: David Dancy
Trial Day 5:
Officer Kessler who already accepted a plea agreement of 5-7 years testified on behalf of the prosecution. He gave a detailed account of the events that led up to Brook’s Death on the evening of Dec 9th 2024.
New information was shared with the deadpan certainty judicial inquisitions demand. We learned that Officer Walrath, who is already serving his 15 yr sentence, had ‘lost it’ on Brooks prior to his entrance (hogtied, dragged) in the infirmary. Walrath’s abuse was not caught on camera and was previously blamed on inmates at Marcy correctional.
We also learned they called for NARCAN and there was the inference that several of the defendants ( Sgt Trombley and Sgt Mashaw) urged the others, like convicted Officer Anthony Farina, to ‘stop’. We also learned that Nurses are rarely in the room when an inmate is being physically restrained.
We also learned about the painstaking process of ‘Use Of Force’ incident reports. Kessler admitted to submitting five or six incident reports that were rejected due to the storyline. When asked what happened to the originals he stated “we shredded them”.
Kessler’s testimony was accompanied by video evidence of what occurred in the infirmary. The silence and red-faced reactions to the graphic video evidence held a testimony of their own.
The Trial resumes on the morning of Tuesday, Oct 14, 2025 at the Oneida County Court Building Fifth Fl.
Its free to the public.
