Federal Prison Gaurds Indicted for Abusing Prisoners

Staff Attorney Rachel Meeropol discusses the indictments and the impact it has on her ongoing case against some of those same guards.

Guards beat down handcuffed inmate & try to cover it up

Two federal jail guards were convicted Thursday (January 24th, 2008) in the videotaped beatdown of a handcuffed inmate and then trying to cover up the attack.

The Metropolitan Detention Center guards, Jamie Toro and Glen Cummings, face up to 20 years in prison. 

Two other guards, Angel Perez and Elizabeth Torres, were found guilty of covering up the beating. The jury acquitted guard Frank Maldonado of involvement in the April 2006 attack. 

Prosecutors said the inmate was beaten and stomped in a prison elevator after he assaulted a guard in the cellblock. 

"It was a blatant use of excessive force for no other reason than to extract revenge," Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Radick said in his closing statement. 

The inmate was being escorted from the cellblock when Toro threw him to the floor without provocation. Cummings, who claimed the prisoner was resisting, ran onto the elevator and repeatedly kicked and stomped him. 

"This was a tragedy," said Cummings' lawyer, William Keahon. "These 10 seconds of his actions, which he thought were necessary, resulted in his conviction." 

After the verdict, Maldonado wept uncontrollably, hugged defense lawyer Nicholas Kaiser, then slammed the courtroom door.