MEMORANDUM AND JUDGMENT
Following a tier III disciplinary hearing, petitioner, a prison inmate, was found guilty of violating the prison disciplinary rules which prohibit inmates from fighting and engaging in violent conduct. The penalty imposed was modified upon petitioner's administrative appeal but otherwise affirmed. Petitioner thereafter commenced this CPLR article 78 proceeding, which we now confirm.
Initially, we note that since petitioner failed to raise any of the issues advanced in his brief at his administrative appeal, those issues are unpreserved for our review (see, Matter of Berner v. Goord, 262 A.D.2d 881). In any event, were these issues properly before us, we would find them to be without merit. For example, the misbehavior report, which we conclude was sufficient to apprise petitioner of the charges against him (see, Matter of Faison v. Senkowski, 255 A.D.2d 625, appeal dismissed 93 N.Y.2d 847), combined with the documents and testimony adduced at the hearing, provide substantial evidence of his guilt (see, Matter of Foster v. Coughlin, 76 N.Y.2d 964, 966). Although petitioner claimed that he was solely acting in self-defense, this raised a credibility issue appropriately resolved by the Hearing Officer (see, Matter of De La Rosa v. Portuondo, 247 A.D.2d 810, 811). Notably, petitioner's claim of justification was appropriately taken into account in mitigation of the penalty imposed (see, Matter of Gogola v. Reynolds, 212 A.D.2d 928). Finally, we do not find petitioner's assertion that the rule prohibiting violent conduct is impermissibly vague to be persuasive.
ADJUDGED that the determination is confirmed, without costs, and petition dismissed.