DISTURBING

Sing Sing Prisoners’ Lawsuit Describes Brutal Beat-Down by Guards

Twenty-six prisoners filed suit against the state, alleging guards attacked them without provocation during a prison-wide search.

Prisoners at New York’s maximum-security facility Sing Sing have filed a lawsuit alleging guards beat them mercilessly without provocation during a prison-wide search in in November. At least seven prisoners were hospitalized and more than 20 sent to a medical unit when several officers ordered prisoners to strip to their underwear and proceeded to beat them in November, according to affidavits from 26 inmates. One prisoner, Brian Johnson, said five officers entered his cell about 8 a.m. and began to kick and punch him. One grabbed his genitals while another held his head to the rim of a toilet bowl while his dreadlocks fell inside the toilet, he said. Sean Davis, who says he was beaten by three officers, was later cited for infractions like “assault on staff” and “refusing direct order.” A sergeant later admitted in a hearing that the allegations were untrue. About 20 prisoners were cited for infractions after the beatings, their lawyer said. “This was nothing short of a planned attack,” lawyer Bruce Barket, whose firm filed the lawsuit, said. “Worse, it was approved of and overseen by high-ranking officials in the prison.” The suit seeks $1 million for each prisoner.