Jail Boss Fires 6 NYC Guards In 2012 Inmate Beating
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York City's jails commissioner has fired five guards and a captain. An administrative law judge had recommended they be terminated for the 2012 beating of a handcuffed Rikers Island inmate.
Joseph Ponte said in a statement Wednesday that most correction officers perform their jobs with integrity. He says there is "no room for this type of behavior on Rikers."
Jail investigators found Robert Hinton, with his arms tied and legs shackled, suffered a broken nose and other injuries for refusing to be escorted in a now-shuttered solitary confinement dorm for mentally ill inmates, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.
Jail Boss Fires 6 NYC Guards In 2012 Inmate Beating
They said guards fabricated a story that the 27-year-old man put one of them in a chokehold to justify the use of force.
Union head Norman Seabrook said he'll vigorously defend his members and appeal to get their jobs back.
The firings follow a court ruling last fall stating that silence and collusion among the officers would not be tolerated.
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