Prosecutor: 2 Rikers Correction Officers Assaulted Teen Awaiting Trial
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A bench trial has begun for two corrections officers from the teenage dorms at Rikers Island.
As WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported, the officers are accused of assaulting a defendant who was awaiting trial.
Prosecutor: 2 Rikers Correction Officers Assaulted Teen Awaiting Trial
Prosecutor Jason Petri told the court the teenage defendant, Raheem Dyer, got into an argument with a correction officer after he was accused of stealing from the jail commissary.
The argument turned physical when he hit officer Winston Gillon, Cornell reported.
Gillon responded by picking Dyer up by the feet, holding him upside down and using him like a pile driver, slamming his head into an iron bed frame, Petri said.
The second officer, Roy Rodney, hit Dyer with pepper spray, grabbed him by the neck, and forced him to his knees while Gillon kicked him, Petri said.
One defense attorney argued to the judge that this is not day camp, it's Rikers Island, where officers face dangers every single day.
The correction officers are charged with assault. The entire incident was caught on video tape.
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