Department of Correction officer suffers broken nose, eye injury in attack on Rikers Island
NEW YORK -- Controversy continues to swirl over the city's handling of Rikers Island. The correction officers' union is speaking out after two of its members were brutally attacked this week.
As CBS2's Lisa Rozner reported Wednesday, it comes during the same week the Department of Correction announced another inmate died while in custody.
The injuries to one officer who was attacked Tuesday are the result of what the DOC called a "detainee disturbance" in the intake area of Rikers Island facility.
"Broken orbital broken, nose, this is what's happening to us now. It has become open season on correction officers," said Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association.
On Monday, the union said another officer was stabbed in the head 15 times by a detainee, alleging it was one of 1,500 assaults on officers since January.
That stabbing happened just hours after a 26-year-old died while in custody. So far, 18 inmates have died while in custody or shortly after being released from Rikers this year.
"Our hearts go out to the family members of anybody that dies in our custody, but the City Council has defunded us. They refuse to give us the 600 officers additional that the mayor put in the budget," Boscio said. "You have one officer in a housing area with approximately 50 inmates. You have to make your tours. They look to see what is it the correction officer did wrong. We do the best we can, but we need the tools."
One of the tools the union says the officers need is being able to separate the most violent inmates from the rest. Right now, the union says they're only allowed to do so for seven hours, but they want to increase that to 16.
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However, legislation from the public advocate would limit the separation time to four hours. The legislation, which has not yet passed through a council committee, also would only allow it if "necessary to de-escalate immediate conflict that has caused injury or poses a specific, serious and imminent danger to a person's safety."
Keith Taylor was an assistant commissioner for the DOC from 2015 to 2017.
"It is extremely detrimental for their safety because they have not come up with safe alternatives to solitary confinement for some inmates. And something that's being left out of this conversation completely is organized crime within Rikers Island," Taylor said.
Some groups have called on ending the practice altogether, saying it worsens the condition for people with mental illness and makes it even more dangerous environment.
In April, the DOC commissioner told CBS2 inmates have limitations on privileges, but they are getting treatment interventions that they need to unlearn their behavior.
Earlier this year, a federal judge considered ordering a federal takeover of Rikers Island. Some are now calling on her to reconsider that decision, given the increasing death toll and increasing assaults on officers.
A spokesperson for the Department of Correction said, "Our members of service show up to work each day despite difficult conditions and play a critical role in keeping our facilities safe. Any assault on staff is absolutely inexcusable. We are not tolerating these deplorable acts, and the individual involved was rearrested."
When asked for DOC's reaction to the proposed legislation, a spokesperson said. "The department does not use solitary confinement, nor do we support that practice. We remain committed to a restrictive housing model that creates the most humane conditions possible while maintaining safety and holding those who commit violence in our jails accountable. At the same time, we take the requirements of the Action Plan seriously and are working with the federal monitor on a path forward as ordered by the court."