On April 18, the NY Post reported the arrest of an accused murderer held on Rikers who allegedly beat a correction officer unconscious earlier in the month.
In a statement, a DOC spokesperson said, “We do not tolerate attacks on officers in the jails …”.
And the Bronx DA Darcel Clark declared “This type of brutal assault will not be tolerated”.
According to the NY Post there have been a “rash of inmate attacks on correction officers, which union officials say has reached 150 since Dec 20, 2023”. In addition, “Since that day, there have been … 39 spitting incidents, 110 liquid splashings and five sexual assaults, officials said.”
Further, according to the Mayor’s Management Report from FY 2019 through FY 2022 there have been about 1,000 assaults on correction officers per year. And it appears only the most egregious attacks are prosecuted.
So, what does the DOC spokesperson and the Bronx DA mean when they say assaults on NYC correction officers won’t be tolerated?
I ask because tomorrow, if not later today, there will be another assault on a correction officer.
Simply saying they will not tolerate assaults means little. Nothing proactive is being done by DOC, NYS legislatures or the City Council to prevent assaults and I venture to say the soft on crime laws in New York and ineffective DOC policies actually encourage assaults on correction officers.
Even though this particular attack is being criminally prosecuted it will likely be included in a plea bargain deal with the detainees original charge. Any prison sentence imposed will likely be served concurrently with the original charge and it appears there will be no confinement pursuant to the city council’s recent ban on solitary confinement. In addition, I don’t expect there to be any restrictions on privileges for the suspect or fines imposed as a result of this violent assault.
NY State legislatures, NY City Council members, City Hall and the Correction Department must be proactive and do more to protect correction officers from assaults.
