“I've seen death. I've been involved with death. What you did to my son, what was done to my son was not fair,” Malcolm Burks shouted on Monday night at the Newburgh City Council meeting.
Malcolm Burks’ son, Marcus Burks, died Jan. 1 after a high-speed chase involving state police that ended in Newburgh. Months later, the Burks’ family is still looking for answers. On Monday night, the family asked Newburgh officials and the city’s police department to release a police report and the full body cam footage. They also said the City of Newburgh Police Department has changed its story several times.
The medical examiners report, reviewed by WAMC, says Marcus Burks’ death was a homicide, and says he died from cardiac arrest when police subdued Marcus, while placing him on his stomach in a position known as prone restraint, and using pepper spray and a taser.
The most recent New York State Police press release about the incident says Marcus Burks did not comply with a traffic stop while on Route 17K in the town of Newburgh. That prompted a chase that troopers say ended at the city of Newburgh line before Burks ultimately crashed into another vehicle. Video shows Newburgh and New York State Police tasing and pepper spraying Burks after the car crash.
Burks was pronounced dead at Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, according to State Police.
“The video of this incident, especially that taken by the State Police, is more shocking and more disturbing than the video of George Floyd and Eric Garner put together,” said Michael Sussman, the Burks’ family attorney at the meeting Monday night.
“Police officers were on [Burks], as he yelled five times, ‘I can't breathe. I can't breathe,’” Sussman said.
Burks’ Father, Malcolm Burks – a track and field coach in Newburgh who was honored by the city a few years ago – said the information he is getting keeps changing.
“We were initially told that the police were not involved in City of Newburgh. My attorney asked for all information on January 7th and he never received a report. Let's make it happen. Homicide, definition, the killing of one individual at the hands of another individual, whether it is intentional or unintentional. My son’s death was ruled homicide,” Malcolm Burks said.
The family’s attorney, Sussman, also said that Newburgh police have changed their story several times, initially telling the family that Newburgh Police were only directing traffic. He also says police told him Marcus died from the vehicle crash.
The state police press release says state troopers and Newburgh Police were on the scene and “Burks was taken into custody and subsequently became unresponsive.”
But the 39-year-old Newburgh man’s family still have questions.
Sussman said he has seen partial body cam footage from Newburgh and State Police, but he is asking for all available police footage from that night to be released.
Malcolm Burk’s wife, Felicia Hodges, said the available bodycam footage shows police did not provide any first aid to Burks after the crash.
“Nobody checked his pulse, nobody did CPR, nobody did compressions. There was no defibrillation. They treated him like he was a slab, an injured animal on the road. He was dead through their hands. And the City of Newburgh told us that they weren't involved, they just directed traffic," said Hodges.
Hodges, a journalist, said she is intimately familiar with how the Newburgh Police Department files its reports. She is asking for more transparency as the family is accusing Newburgh Police of not releasing a police report from that night.
Hodges said they filed a Freedom of Information Law request for a city police report but have received nothing.
“You mean to tell me someone dies while you're physically there, either watching or not doing anything, and there's no police report. I don't understand that. So, either they're stupid or they're lying. It can't be both, it's one or the other. Either you don't know that a police report should be done, or you have one and you're just not willing to show it,” Hodges said.
“Somebody died and they treated him like a freaking animal, and this is the best they can do. Or we're waiting for the attorney general [and] that could take up to a year. They are totally capable of doing a report, but they won't,” Hodges continued.
Newburgh Police Chief Brandon Rola told WAMC the department is not commenting on this story right now. State Police said, “It would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time” and referred WAMC to the Attorney General’s investigation.
Attorney General Letitia James’s office began a special investigation on April 17, into the death of Burks, “following an encounter with members of New York State Police and the City of Newburgh Police Department.” The report says, “Officers used pepper spray and at least one Taser while attempting to restrain Mr. Burks. Mr. Burks became unresponsive and was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”
Malcolm said he wants to hear back from the city with more information. If he doesn’t, he says he’s prepared to organize a march in a week.
“I spent over 20 years in the military. I didn't come back here to Newburgh to have my son taken away from me. Not in this manner. I've seen death. I've been involved with death. What you did to my son, what was done to my son was not fair. My son didn't have a weapon. He didn't resist. He was tased more than once, pepper sprayed while he was down in the prone position, while an officer was on his back. No compassion. No compassion. I will march for Marcus. You have eight days,” Malcolm Burks said as the room broke into applause.
