Rikers Island has a long history of inmate assault in New York City. As a result, there has been a concerted effort over the past couple of years to clean the jail facility up and keep inmates safe from corrections officer assault.
Earlier this month, five Rikers Islands guards (including the facility’s Assistant Chief for Security) were convicted on a variety of charges stemming from the brutal beating of Jahmal Lightfoot. Lightfoot was an inmate at the jail in New York in 2012 when he was attacked.
Lightfoot presented documents in court that alleged Assistant Chief for Security Eliseo Perez told officers under his command that Lightfoot should be beaten during a search of his cell. Four guards then removed Lightfoot from his cell and repeatedly beat him while he was restrained.
Lightfoot suffered two fractured eye sockets, a broken nose, and was bruised so badly that his eyes swelled shut. The corrections officer assault case in New York City court also alleged that officers filed false documentation to cover up their actions, including falsifying testimony that Lightfoot had attacked a guard with a sharpened piece of metal.
The charges against the 5 corrections officers include attempted gang assault-a felony in New York. One guard who was also charged with helping to cover up the inmate assault was later found not guilty.
New York City’s Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte said that the city has “zero tolerance” for any illegal behavior on the part of corrections officers at Rikers Island. This public declaration was intended to go a long way toward resolving the safety issues at Rikers Island or New York’s other detention facilities.
If you have been the victim of corrections officer assault in New York City, retaining an experienced New York City inmate assault attorney is essential in insuring you get the compensation you deserve. Contact the expert legal team at the Law Offices of Nussin S. Fogel and get the law on your side. Call or 212-385-1122 today.