Patricia R. Doxsey reports in The Daily Freeman that a state appellate court upheld a lower-court ruling March 16, saying an independent arbitrator must reconsider the 120-day suspension for Michael Bukowski, a state corrections officer who brutally beat inmate Ramon Fabian at the Fishkill Correctional Facility. Bukowski was found guilty of five counts of misconduct, and corrections officials say he used excessive force and lied to investigators about the July 21, 2014 assault. The Department of Corrections wanted to fire Bukowski for "five counts of misconduct for causing serious injury to an inmate by using excessive and unjust physical force and corporal punishment; failing to file a required form reporting he had used physical force; failing to notify his supervisor that an inmate had been injured; falsely stating he had not kicked the inmate; and lying to the inspector general when asked whether he had kicked the inmate." The appellate court wrote, “that the penalty of suspension — which would return Bukowski to his prior position after 120 days, with unlimited direct contact with inmates and continued responsibility for their care, control and discipline — creates an explicit conflict upon the policy against the use of unjustified physical force or corporal punishment ‘for any purpose and under all circumstances.’” Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.