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Local charged with beating inmate

Dan Hust - Staff Writer
Posted 9/23/16

FISHKILL — A Sullivan County resident is one of five state corrections officers charged with mercilessly beating an inmate in their care.

According to Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the …

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Local charged with beating inmate

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FISHKILL — A Sullivan County resident is one of five state corrections officers charged with mercilessly beating an inmate in their care.

According to Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, 34-year-old George Santiago Jr. of Fremont Center and four other Downstate Correctional Facility officers have been charged with federal civil rights offenses, including conspiring to deprive the victim of his Constitutional rights, depriving the victim of his Constitutional rights under color of law, obstructing justice by conspiring to file false reports and filing false reports.

Bharara's press release alleges that Santiago, his superior Sgt. Kathy Scott and fellow officers Carson Morris, Donald Cosman and Andrew Lowery participated in a November 12, 2013 beating of Kevin Moore, a 54-year-old inmate at Downstate in Fishkill at the time.

Moore allegedly objected to being confined in a mental health cell, whereupon the officers punched and kicked him while holding him down.

Santiago is specifically accused of kicking Moore in the face, laughing and taunting him. At one point, dreadlocks were ripped from Moore's head, and Bharara alleges that Santiago later retrieved them, boasting he would use them as a “souvenir” on his motorcycle.

Moore suffered five fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, facial fractures, and injuries to his back, hands, legs and feet, but Bharara alleges officers nevertheless placed him into solitary confinement overnight, without any medical attention.

Moore was ultimately in the hospital for 17 days.

Meanwhile, Bharara alleges the involved officers tried to concoct a cover story for the beating, saying that Santiago struck Cosman on the back with his baton in order to give the appearance of injuries delivered by Moore.

A federal investigation was conducted in conjunction with the FBI, NYS Dept. of Corrections and Community Supervision, and the Dutchess County District Attorney's Office.

Santiago, Scott and Morris were taken into custody on Wednesday; Cosman and Lowery have already pled guilty.

“I sincerely compliment Mr. Bharara for his willingness to take the lead in this investigation after it became apparent that existing New York State law would make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for us to conduct an effective investigation at the state level,” said Dutchess DA William Grady.

“Inmates may be walled off from the public, but they are not walled off from the Constitution,” said Bharara. “And when correction officers viciously beat an inmate in their charge, then collude among themselves to cover it up - as alleged here - they trample on the Constitution and the very laws they have sworn to uphold.”

The officers face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

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