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