A prisoner in a New York correctional facility was struck so hard by a prison officer that he had to have part of his genitals surgically removed.
20-year-old Ramon Fabian, who was serving a one-year sentence for a drugs offence, was kicked by prison guard Michael Bukowski after he was caught talking to another inmate during a morning head count, something the prisoners at Ulster Correctional Facility were not supposed to do.
After the head count, Bukowski took Fabian out of the view of prison security cameras, and told him to face the wall in a 'stop and frisk' position. Once he was in position, Bukowski kicked him hard in his genitals.
Fabian was unable to stand after the incident, and was taken to a hospital, where part of his right testicle was removed as a result of the attack.
Prison officials ruled that Bukowski had used excessive force. However, a trade union intervention prevented him from losing his job.
The case was brought to an arbitrator, who also said excessive force was used, and said Bukowski should be suspended without pay for 120 days as it was his first offence.
However, prison officials refused to let Bukowski return to work at all - leading to another case brought by the union, in which the New York Supreme Court ruled the 120-day suspension was inappropriate and ordered that Bukowski's case be reheard.
As the New York Times reports, Bukowski remains a state employee, and his case is still unresolved - however, he is facing assault charges.
The arbitration process in New York is required by unions, and the paper reports that since 2010, only eight prison guards have been dismissed for abusing inmates, out of 30 who have been accused.
