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 Prosecutors in the city's Bronx borough have accused 10 guards in
the assault of Jahmal Lightfoot on July 11, 2012, who was left with
two fractured eye sockets and a broken nose.
The former assistant chief for security, Eliseo Perez, and a
captain, Gerald Vaughn, ordered five other officers to carry out the
attack after Lightfoot stared at Perez during a screening for
weapons, according to prosecutors.
Three other guards helped conceal the crime by filing inaccurate
reports stating that Lightfoot attacked first, authorities said. One
of the officers claimed he was slashed, and another officer later
produced what he falsely claimed was the weapon Lightfoot used,
according to prosecutors.
 One of the 10 officers charged in the incident will be tried
separately at a later date.
Rikers Island, which houses approximately 10,000 inmates and is one
of the country's largest jail complexes, has been plagued for years
by what critics say is a pervasive culture of abuse.
Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration has instituted a comprehensive
plan to reduce violence at the jail by both inmates and officers,
including better training, more cameras and updated use-of-force
policies.
Some city and state officials, including Governor Andrew Cuomo, have
floated the idea of closing Rikers permanently, a proposal that de
Blasio has dismissed as unworkable.
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The 30-year-old Lightfoot, who is expected to testify at trial, was
released from prison in 2014 after serving a sentence for robbery.
He has also filed a civil lawsuit against the city and the officers.
Lawyers in the criminal case have been ordered not to comment
publicly about the trial.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
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