An ‘Abuse of Trust’ at Brooklyn Jail

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The New York Sun

In opening arguments this morning in the trial of a former corrections captain accused of trying to cover up a case of prisoner abuse at a Brooklyn jail, prosecutors described the alleged episode as an “abuse of trust.”

The jail officer, Salvatore LoPresti, and fellow officers beat a prisoner, Robert George, because they were “intent on teaching him a lesson” after the inmate refused to obey an order to remove his T-shirt, an assistant U.S. attorney, Sarah Coyne, told jurors at U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

Prosecutors have accused Mr. LoPresti of then trying to cover up the abuse at Metropolitan Detention Center, located in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn, by faking a suicide scene in the inmate’s cell and claiming he was injured as officers tried to stop him from committing suicide.

Mr. LoPresti “chose to inflict his own form of punishment rather than abide by the rules of the prison,” Ms. Coyne said. “This case is about the abuse of power and the abuse of trust.”

Four other former and current officers charged in the case all pleaded in recent weeks, but Mr. LoPresti, who sat quietly in the courtroom in a dark suit and made notes as the prosecutor spoke, maintains his innocence.

An attorney for Mr. LoPresti, Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma, said his client is a “compassionate” man who knew George well and was concerned about his mental health.

George had a history of fighting with guards.

Ms. Coyne said she would call guards who were present at the time of the incident to the witness stand. The guards are expected to tell the jury they obeyed their captain’s orders, she said. Prosecutors also plan to call a jail psychologist, who is expected to testify that George told her he never tried to hang himself.

George will not testify because he has since been deported to his native Ghana after finishing his sentence.

The jail was the subject of a Justice Department report on the alleged abuse of Muslim men detained there shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The inmates have since filed complaints that list Mr. LoPresti as a defendant.


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