The death of Marcy Correctional inmate Robert Brooks has been ruled a homicide by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to Brooks family attorney Steve Schwarz.

Schwarz says the medical examiner's report lists the cause of death as compression to the neck and blunt trauma to the body.

Schwarz also says the case will be presented to a grand jury next week.

The Brooks family released a statement Tuesday through Elizabeth Mazur, an attorney with a Chicago law firm who is part of the team representing the Brooks family:

“The autopsy report confirms what was already clear: Robert Brooks’s violent death was a homicide. We look forward to the prosecution of those responsible. In the meantime, we are pushing forward with our fight for justice for Mr. Brooks and for his family.”

Two months ago, the office of state Attorney General Letitia James released body camera footage of the Dec. 9 incident, which shows multiple correction officers hitting Brooks, 43, while he was restrained at the prison. He died the next day at a hospital in Utica, according to the state attorney general's office. Brooks was serving a 12-year sentence for stabbing his girlfriend in 2016.

It's an incident that has sparked conversations and rallies across the state calling for accountability.

That was also the theme Tuesday night at a community forum in Rochester.

"Just to hear what [Brooks] was going through and two things he said stuck with me," said Lesli Myers-Small, executive director of the Rochester Police Accountability Board. "He said, 'I don't want my son's death to be in vain and I want to make sure that this doesn't happen again.'"

Robert Ricks, the father of Brooks, was there to speak at the event. People also heard from a panel discussion from local leaders and watched performances by young people from Mentors Inspiring Boys & Girls. That’s an organization run by Robert Ricks.

In recent weeks, leadership with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision say they are committed to preventing an incident like this from happening again. They also have said that they already have implemented changes, including increasing the supervision of officers.