Rikers Island Inmate Accused Of Attacking 2 Correction Officers
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Days after the city touted increased safety at Rikers Island a correction officer was slashed by an inmate.
It happened Sunday morning when 26-year-old Matthew Whittington somehow got out of his cell and apparently started beating an unnamed officer as he tried to remove the inmate's meal tray, WCBS 880's Stephanie Colombini reported.
A second officer jumped in to help and was slashed in the arm, officials said.
Both officers punched the inmate, officials said.
A scalpel wrapped in electrical tape was recovered near the cell.
Whittington is now facing assault charges.
Correction Officers' Benevolent Association President Elias Husamudeen says the commissioner should be fired before an officer gets killed.
Department of Correction Commissioner Joe Ponte says he's outraged by the assault, but adds attacks on staff with serious injury dropped by 45 percent in the first half of this year.
Ponte said the department has been working to keep officers safe by improving both the locking systems of doors and the equipment officers carry.
"We increased the availability of pepper spray," Ponte told WCBS 880's Alex Silverman.
Ponte said he will continue to push for the state to authorize the use of body scanners to stop the flow of dangerous contraband into the jail complex.
"It's a constant battle for us to try and detect those," Ponte said.
