It was a brutal crime, even for Rikers Island.

Jahmal Lightfoot, an inmate in one of the jails at the complex, was tackled to the ground and kicked repeatedly until both his eye sockets were fractured and his nose was broken. His attackers were not other prisoners, but five members of an elite unit of correction officers carrying out an order from Eliseo Perez Jr., an assistant chief for security, Bronx prosecutors have said.

Mr. Lightfoot provoked Mr. Perez’s ire that day in July 2012 by daring to stare at him as correction officers were checking inmates for weapons. “This guy thinks he’s tough,” Mr. Perez reportedly said, before ordering officers to kick his teeth in, according to prosecutors.

Now Mr. Perez and nine others — all current or former correction officers — face a number of criminal charges, including attempted gang assault, assault, tampering with physical evidence and official misconduct, in connection with the beating of Mr. Lightfoot and an alleged attempt to cover up the attack. Nine of the officers are on trial in State Supreme Court in the Bronx. The 10th, Michael Pollard, who has medical problems, will be tried separately.

The case against the Rikers officers highlights a culture of violence and abuse that seems to permeate Rikers Island, New York City’s main jail complex, at a time when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and others are calling for it to be closed. The new Bronx district attorney, Darcel D. Clark, a fellow Democrat who has made Rikers Island one of her top priorities, is opening an office on the island to prosecute crimes committed there more quickly and effectively.