Two guards at the Federal Medical Center in Devens were arrested Thursday, one for allegedly injuring a handcuffed inmate with a protective shield and the other for attempting to cover up the excessive use of force, prosecutors said.

Seth M. Bourget, a senior correction officer, was indicted on two counts of deprivation of civil rights under color of law, and Joseph M. Lavorato, a lieutenant at FMC Devens in Ayer, was indicted on obstruction of an official proceeding and destruction and falsification of records in a federal investigation, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling’s office.

“These corrections officers abused their authority and the public’s trust by allegedly injuring a vulnerable inmate and then attempting to cover it up,” said Lelling said in his statement. “This conduct is an affront to the law enforcement officers who serve honorably every day and fulfill their duties with fairness and integrity.”

In June 2019, Bourget, a resident of Woodstock, Connecticut, allegedly dropped his knee on an inmate’s head while the prisoner was handcuffed and restrained in the N-3 mental health housing unit at the facility. The 39-year-old is also accused of striking the prisoner with a protective shield when the inmate was handcuffed inside a locked holding cell in the N-1 mental health housing unit, according to court documents.

Lavorato, a Wilmington, Massachusetts resident, allegedly provided false information to the Federal Bureau of Prisons when it was conducting a review of the incident. He is accused of failing to accurately report the nature and extent of the inmate’s injuries to supervisors at FMC Devens, court documents said.

Prosecutors alleged the 51-year-old also hid video recordings of Bourget injuring the prisoner, according to court documents. Lavorato is accused of falsely claiming the camera that captured the alleged use of excessive force had a dead battery and that a different camera was used as the incident progressed. Authorities said he in fact deleted the recording of the incident, according to court documents.

FMC Devens is “an administrative security federal medical center with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp,” according to the facility’s website. The center has housed several high-profile inmates, including former Congressman Anthony Weiner and Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

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