news-record.com

RALEIGH (MCT) — Three correctional officers face felony charges in the alleged 2008 beating of an inmate at a state prison in Greene County.

Capt. Gregory Allen Beck, Sgt. Terry Lynn Bell and Officer Brian Steve Bostick of Maury Correctional Institution are charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, according to a news release by the N.C. Department of Correction.

The charges are related to an incident in March 2008 involving inmate David G. Richardson, 31. He is serving a nine-year sentence for robbery, according to the prison system's online database.

George Dudley, a public information officer, sent a news release about the arrest at 4:46 p.m. Wednesday. Reached by a reporter shortly after 5 p.m., Dudley said he could provide no details about the alleged assault or the nature of the injuries to the inmate, because it was after business hours.

Dudley said more information would be available today.

The arrests come after a long review by agents with the State Bureau of Investigation, according to the release.

The investigation was requested July 2 in a letter by Theodis Beck, then the state secretary of Correction. In his letter, Beck referred to an internal inquiry that had uncovered "serious implications" of "excessive use of force against certain inmates."

Beck, the captain, resigned from his position in July 2008, according to the release. Bell and Bostick are still employed. They are on investigatory suspension. Formal disciplinary action against them began Wednesday, according to the release.

''Our job is protecting the safety of the public and the inmates in our institutions," said the current Correction secretary, Alvin Keller, in the written statement. "This agency has zero tolerance for employees who abuse inmates or operate outside the bounds of the law and our policies and procedures."

Gov. Beverly Perdue also issued a statement about the arrests late Wednesday.

''I have zero-tolerance for putting public safety or the safety of inmates at risk," the governor was quoted as saying. "Those who abuse inmates or operate outside the law will be held accountable."