Prosecutors Allege a Stare Down Led to Prison Guards Beating Inmate

Prosecutors allege a stare down led to prison guards beating inmate Robbery suspect Jamal Lightfoot was savagely beaten after he ‘locked eyes’ with Supervising Warden Eliseo Perez, who allegedly told a team of officers to attack the prisoner. Some of Lightfoot’s teeth were knocked out, and his eye sockets and his nose were broken, the Bronx district attorney's office said. By Vera Chinese , Oren Yaniv AND John Marzulli / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Published: Wednesday, June 26, 2013, 10:50 PM A group of correction officers behaved like some of the prisoners they were supposed to be guarding — savagely beating an inmate for looking at one of them funny, prosecutors said Wednesday. “I want you to knock his f---ing teeth in,” supervising warden Eliseo Perez allegedly told a team of officers tasked with reducing inmate violence at Rikers Island. RELATED: GANG OF RIKERS ISLAND GUARDS TO BE INDICTED FOR BEATING INMATE The team — including another captain, Michael Pollard — not only knocked out some of Jamal Lightfoot’s teeth, but members also broke his eye sockets and his nose, the Bronx district attorney's office said. The robbery suspect was beaten so badly he had to be taken to an outside hospital, which led the accused attackers and five others to cover up the circumstances of the assault, the Bronx DA’s office said. They falsely claimed Lightfoot, who’s now doing 3 1/2 years behind bars for robbery, was armed. Lightfoot’s family lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein, said the incident is part of a “systemic problem” and shows that “prisoners in Rikers Island are not safe.” The probe was led by the city Department of Investigation. The agency's work has led to the arrests of 53 DOC staff since January 2009, on charges ranging from theft and contraband smuggling to assault. http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/stare-led-prison-guards-beating-inmate-prosecutors-article-1.1383637

Prison Guard Beats Up 15-Year-Old Inmate On Camera Keeps Job

Prison Guard Beats Up 15-Year-Old Inmate On Camera, Keeps Job By Zack Beauchamp on December 13, 2012 at 3:50 pm For the third time in in recent memory, a Florida guard has been recorded viciously assaulting a defenseless teenage inmate on camera — but this guard is still supervising children. Shannon Lynn Abbott, an employee at the private Milton Girls Juvenile Residential Facility, threw an unidentified 15-year-old prisoner against a wall and a hard floor on a tape obtained by the Miami Herald. Though the prisoner showed no signs of resistance during the attack, Abbot and another guard proceeded to sit on the prisoner for several minutes while other people entered the room. Yet though Abbott is currently under arrest for assault, she’s somehow still in charge of young inmates: Although the encounter got Shannon Linn Abbott arrested, it didn’t get her fired. The 33-year-old bailed out and was back on the job right afterward and supervising children, to the extreme dismay of the Department of Juvenile Justice. Similar inhumanity is sadly common in the American juvenile prison system. Kids as young as 13 are thrown into solitary confinement and often denied access to basic health care. Many are in juvenile detention for minor school disciplinary violations that simply ”making adults mad.” Though private prisons like Milton Girls are rife with cruel treatment of prisoners, some members of Florida’s state legislature have pursued an illegal end-around to try to privatize the state’s prison health care system.

Two Bexar Co. Jail Guards Put on Leave, Third Quits After Inmate Beating

Two Bexar Co. Jail guards put on leave, third quits after inmate beating Two Bexar Co. Jail guards put on leave, third quits after inmate beating by Dillon Collier / KENS 5 Bio | Email | Follow: @dilloncollier Posted on June 3, 2013 at 11:15 PM SAN ANTONIO -- Two guards at the Bexar County Jail have been on administrative leave since late May after an inmate was beaten inside his cell. Alvaro Ramirez III and Michael Smith were placed on leave following a six-week internal investigation. Inmate Shawn McHazlett was attacked March 31. According to sources within the jail, McHazlett was asleep when Ramirez entered his cell and started to punch him. Officer Michael Smith also is accused of entering the cell and was placed on leave after investigators found he tried to cover up the attack. McHazlett was later treated for bruised ribs and muscle injuries from being shot by a stun gun. A third guard, who witnessed the attack, resigned three days later. He spoke with KENS 5 on Monday and said the beating crystalized his decision to quit. "I felt like I can't work in this type of environment," said the former guard, who asked KENS 5 to conceal his identity. McHazlett was arrested Jan. 13 on felony drug and firearm charges and a misdemeanor charge of interfering with a public servant. "There are almost 800 employees working inside the Bexar County Jail, and a vast majority of them do a wonderful job under stressful situations," said Paul Berry, spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. Watch The Video >http://www.kens5.com/news/Two-Bexar-Co-Jail-guards-on-leave-third-quits-after-inmate-beating-210021761.html