On December 25, a class-action suit by inmates against New York City corrections officers on Rikers Island moved into high gear. The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, joined the suit against the city and the federal judge scheduled new negotiations. At stake are issues of officer misconduct in the use of force against inmates. Last August, Bharara issued a stinging report about the “deep-seated culture of violence” at the jail complex.

Reform has long been stymied at Rikers Island. The reason is the power of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, the union representing the guards. Over the last few years, Norman Seabrooke, the union’s leader, did everything in his power to remove the chief investigator of New York Department of Corrections, whom he deemed hostile to officers, and have her replaced with his childhood friend. The episode proved another example of Seabrooke’s remarkable control over whom the Corrections Department appoints to top positions.