New York’s correctional officers union is calling for a public apology from State Senator Julia Salazar after her comments about last week’s suicide of a longtime civilian staff member at Marcy Correctional Facility.
In a statement issued Saturday, the Executive Board of NYSCOPBA—New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association—condemned the senator’s immediate reaction to the incident, calling her remarks “reckless and uninformed.”
According to the union, the chaplain, a 20-year veteran of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), took his own life on Friday inside the administration building. Staff reportedly witnessed the act, rushed to render aid, and attempted to save his life.
Senator Salazar, who chairs the Senate’s Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee, questioned how a civilian was able to enter the facility with a firearm and suggested negligence by security staff. She pledged to “interrogate” the security team.
NYSCOPBA says the senator’s response deflects blame and ignores existing policies. “DOCCS policy does not require staff, including civilian employees, to pass through magnetometers,” the statement said. Entry screenings include clear plastic bags and random searches—procedures the union says are in place because of chronic staffing shortages.
“This is not leadership. This is scapegoating,” the union’s board wrote, arguing that systemic issues—like legislative underfunding, reduced staffing, and limited mental health resources—enabled the tragedy.
The union says Salazar and other lawmakers should be focused on improving wellness programs and addressing critical vacancies inside state prisons. They’re demanding an apology for what they called an effort to “weaponize a tragedy to score political points.”
Below is a full statement from State Senator Julia Salazar:
“When correction officers murdered Robert Brooks at Marcy, the same prison a civilian managed to bring a loaded gun into and use it to end his own life, NYSCOPBA members chose that moment to walk off of their jobs and deflect. It is no surprise that they are now responding in this manner after another man’s death at Marcy.
Instead of taking this moment to reflect on what could have prevented this tragedy, NYSCOPBA is attacking me as the Chair of the Corrections Committee for accurately recognizing that a man was allowed to bring a loaded gun into a prison. That is what happened, and nothing they say can change that. To be clear, I did not name or attack NYSCOPBA at any point in my statement.
The news here should be that a man tragically took his own life inside of a state government facility, and understanding why that happened. As a lawmaker, it’s part of my job to ask how this happened – which is what I’m doing. That’s my job and NYSCOPBA is essentially telling me not to ask these questions.”
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