Legal Report: New York Prison Officers Charged with Murder of Inmate
Security Management’s Legal Report is a monthly column that highlights the instances where legal matters intersect with the security industry. Our team tracks court cases, new and developing legislation, and regulatory decisions or investigations that affect private organizations and security professionals worldwide.
To share a tip or notify Security Management about emerging legal issues, email Associate Editor Sara Mosqueda at [email protected].
Judicial Decisions
United States
Fatwa. A New York jury found a New Jersey man guilty of attempted murder in the stabbing of noted author Salman Rushdie in 2022.
On 12 August 2022, Hadi Matar attacked Rushdie while he was speaking at an event in Chautauqua, New York. Matar stabbed Rushdie several times across his body, including in one of his eyes. Grievously wounded, Rushdie was hospitalized and ultimately lost the use of one of his hands due to severed nerves, as well as losing sight in his right eye.
The jury also found Matar guilty of assaulting Henry Reese, who had been moderating the discussion with Rushdie at the Chautauqua Institution event. Earlier in the court proceedings, Matar, who was arrested by law enforcement present at the event, pled not guilty to the charges.
The second-degree attempted murder charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years. A sentencing date is scheduled for 23 April. (People of New York v. Hadi Matar, Chautauqua County Court, 2025)
Matar is also facing federal charges of terrorism because of the attack. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York alleged Matar was acting on a fatwa issued by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini over Rushdie’s 1988 novel, The Satanic Verses,” NPR reported.
The federal trial has not yet begun, but it will take place in the U.S. District Court in Buffalo, New York. (United States of America v. Hadi Matar, U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, No. 24-cr-0059, 2024)
Prisons. Six New York corrections officers were charged with murder and three more officers were charged with manslaughter over the killing of Robert Brooks, an inmate at a medium-security corrections facility. Officers’ body-worn cameras recorded the December 2024 assault that resulted in Brooks’s death.
When he was killed, Brooks was serving out a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault. An investigation into the death, conducted by the Onondaga County district attorney, found no evidence that Brooks provoked or instigated the attack. Footage from the body cameras shows the officers dragging and carrying Brooks into a medical examination room, where he was kicked, punched, and beaten until he was motionless and unresponsive. He was transported to and pronounced dead at Wynn Hospital in Utica, New York.
Five of the officers—Nicholas Anzalone, Anthony Farina, Mathew Galliher, David Kingsley, and Christopher Walrath—were charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Anzalone was also charged with filing a false report, and Galliher was additionally charged with gang assault. All five men pleaded not guilty at their arraignments.
The identity of the sixth officer charged with murder and other crimes was redacted from the indictment.
The other three officers—Michael Fisher, Michael Mashaw, and David Walters—were only charged with manslaughter. The charges were filed in response to their failure to stop the attack. They also filed pleas of not guilty.
Another officer—Nicholas Gentile—was charged with evidence tampering for allegedly cleaning and trying to remove bloodstains from the area where Brooks was beaten. Gentile pleaded not guilty to the charge. (The People of the State of New York vs. Nicholas Anzalone, et al., County Court of Oneida, No. I 2025-035, 2025)
Brooks’s son has filed a civil suit against the identified officers and others. (Robert L. Brooks Jr. v. Anthony Farina, et al., U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, No. 25-cv-68)
Wildfires. A drone pilot agreed to plead guilty to one count of unsafely operating a drone. The drone that Peter Tripp Akemann operated crashed into a firefighting plane in January 2025, forcing the aircraft to land.
According to the plea agreement, Akemann launched a drone from Santa Monica, California, and flew it towards Pacific Palisades to catch a view of the Palisades Fire. After he lost sight of the drone, the craft crashed into the plane—a Super Scooper owned by the Quebec government—punching a hole into the plane’s left wing.
At the time of the crash, the plane was responding to the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, California, and it carried two firefighters. Super Scooper planes can gather roughly 1,500 gallons of water in a matter of seconds while flying over a body of water to then drop the water over fires.
Drone operations were prohibited in the area at the time due to firefighting efforts.
The charge, a misdemeanor, carries a maximum prison sentence of one year. Although a sentence has yet to be issued, as part of a plea deal, Akemann must pay $65,000 to the government of Quebec for the damage he caused to the plane, as well as complete 150 hours of wildfire-related community service. (United States v. Peter Tripp Akemann, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 25-cr-00074-MWF, 2025)
Social media manipulation. Eric Council, Jr., pled guilty to being involved in hacking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) account on X (formerly known as Twitter) in January 2024. While in control of the account, Council and others posted messages that increased the value of Bitcoin by more than $1,000.
The group illegally gained control of the account with the use of an unauthorized subscriber identity module (SIM) swap, which was carried out by Council. This method involves deceiving a cell phone provider so that it reassigns a cell phone number from the authorized subscriber’s SIM card to a SIM card controlled by the bad actor. Council impersonated someone with access to the SEC’s social media account, getting him access to the person’s phone number and from there access to the X account.
After gaining access to the account, other members of the group posted a fake announcement claiming that the SEC had approved Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds, a decision that many had been anticipating, leading to a spike in the cryptocurrency’s value. After the SEC regained control of the account, it announced that the previous post was a fake and caused by a security breach. After this, the value of Bitcoin dropped by more than $2,000.
For his involvement in the scheme, Council pled guilty to conspiracy to commit identity theft and access device fraud. The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of five years.
Council will be sentenced on 16 May. (United States v. Eric Council Jr., U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 24-cr-00457, 2025)
Legislation
Australia
Hate crime. In early February, the Australian government established mandatory minimum sentences for public displays of the Nazi salute and other Nazi hate symbols, which are outlawed in the country.
The Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2025 alters existing language to combat a recent rise in anti-Semitic attacks in Australia. Previously, the law did not list mandatory sentences, only banning the use of the salute and other Nazi symbols.
Now, anyone convicted of performing a Nazi salute in public or of less serious hate crimes will be issued a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 12 months, while a terrorism offense carries a minimum mandatory sentence of six years. Anyone convicted of financing terrorism will receive at least a mandatory prison sentence of three years. The amendment also banned “advocating force or violence through causing damage to property,” which now carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of one year. Lastly, it increased the maximum penalty for publicly performing a Nazi salute or displaying a banned hate symbol to five years.
The amendment also expanded protected groups to include those in the LGBTQ+ communities.
U.S. States
Gun violence. Illinois will now require the removal of firearms from a person accused of committing domestic violence if the victim is granted an order of protection against his or her abuser.
Under Karina’s Law (HB 4144), law enforcement must promptly remove guns, firearm parts, and firearm identification and licenses from someone who has a restraining order against him or her, because that person’s Firearm Owner’s Identification card would be revoked by the order. Once a judge has issued a search warrant for the person’s home, law enforcement must search for and remove these items within 96 hours.
Prior to the law, there was a loophole in confiscating firearms from an alleged abuser because it was unclear who was responsible for the removal of the weapons and their accessories.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker enacted the law on 10 February. It was named for Karina Gonzalez, who was given an order of protection against her husband weeks before he shot her, their daughter, and their son. Only the son survived and has since lobbied for the passage of the law.
Regulations
Australia
Espionage. The Department of Home Affairs issued a mandate that orders all Australian government entities to prevent the installation and remove any existing instances of any products or services from Russian cybersecurity and anti-virus company Kaspersky Lab, Inc.
“After considering threat and risk analysis, I have determined that the use of Kaspersky Lab, Inc., products and Web services by Australian Government entities poses an unacceptable security risk to Australian Government, networks, and data, arising from threats of foreign interference, espionage, and sabotage,” Home Affairs Secretary Stephanie Foster said in the order (Direction 002-2025), which was issued on 21 February.
All government entities must comply with order by 1 April, although an exception can be requested if use of the software or service for a “legitimate” reason and if appropriate protections are used.
South Korea
Aviation safety. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport ordered that all 15 airports in South Korea must install bird detection cameras and thermal imaging radars.
The additional technology should help in spotting birds so pilots can avoid collisions.
The new rule was issued after an investigation into a December 2024 plane crash at Muan International Airport found feathers and bloodstains on the plane’s engines, indicating bird strikes played a role in the crash. The Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 crash resulted in 179 deaths, the deadliest plane crash recorded on South Korean soil.
United States
Bribery. The Trump administration paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which bans companies operating in the country from paying foreign government officials to help advance their business.
President Trump issued an executive order issuing the pause on 10 February, claiming enforcement of the law had been “overexpansive and unpredictable” against U.S. citizens and their businesses. Prosecuting these issues “actively harms American economic competitiveness and, therefore, national security,” according to the order.
The order pauses FCPA investigations for 180 days while the act’s guidelines and policies are reviewed. Existing investigations will also be reviewed, although those involving foreign cartels and other criminal organizations will continue to be pursued.
Also of Interest
Security Management tracks court cases, bills, laws, and regulatory issues that impact the security industry. Here are some of the stories that are of current interest.
DEI. Florida’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against Target, alleging that the retail company defrauded investors, violating the Securities Exchange Act, by failing to disclose “the known risks” of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and Pride month initiatives.
Hacking. The U.S. Department of Justice filed charges against 12 Chinese citizens, accusing them of participating in an effort to steal data from American businesses and people to sell to the Chinese government and others.
Hate crime. Illinois man Joseph Czuba was convicted of murder and hate crimes for killing a 6-year-old Palestinian-American child in 2023. After the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Czuba targeted his tenants, Hanan Shaheen and her son Wadea Al-Fayoume, because of their Muslim faith. In October 2023, Czuba forced his way into the family’s home and stabbed Shaheen more than a dozen times before stabbing Wadea 26 times. A sentencing hearing for Czuba, who had pleaded not guilty, is scheduled for May.
Intimidation. The city of Springfield, Ohio, filed a federal lawsuit against a neo-Nazi group that allegedly intimidated Haitian residents. The city—which was highlighted during the 2024 Trump-Vance presidential campaign with false claims about Haitian immigrants—alleges that Blood Tribe members waged an intimidation campaign against Haitian immigrants, including harassment, bomb threats, and death threats.
Sexual assault. A French court convicted film director Christophe Ruggia to a four-year sentence for sexually assaulting actress Adele Haenel while she was a minor. The sentence includes two years under house arrest while the remaining two years were suspended. Ruggia was also ordered to pay Haenel €50,000 ($51,300) in damages.
Workplace violence. A Pennsylvania court found Tyrone Tunnell guilty in the December 2023 murder of a Macy’s security guard. Tunnell, who was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison, pled guilty to the murder of Eric Harrison and the attempted murder of a second security guard. A different security guard had evicted Tunnell from a Macy’s store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after Tunnell tried to steal hats. Tunnell returned to the store and stabbed Harrison in the neck, then stabbed the second guard, Christian Mitchell, five times, including in the face and left arm.
