3 prison guards covered up unprovoked inmate assault, New York prosecutor says

Three prison guards at Rikers Island, home to New York City’s largest jail, covered up an unprovoked inmate assault that occurred over a year ago, prosecutors said. Now, the trio has just been indicted for falsifying records.

One of the guards, a 31-year-old man, approached an inmate who was standing with his arms by his sides in October 2021, according to a statement from the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office.

The guard then struck the inmate in the face before “taking a fighting stance,” officials said. The attack was captured by a surveillance camera and witnessed by two other guards.

Afterward, all three guards submitted reports stating the inmate had been the aggressor and “the use of force was justified,” officials said.

Attorneys for the three defendants could not immediately be reached for comment by McClatchy News.

On Jan. 17, the Bronx District Attorney announced the trio had been charged with falsifying business records and official misconduct, among other charges. They are scheduled to reappear in court on April 19, officials said.

“These defendants violated the trust put in them by allegedly filing false instruments about an officer’s assault on an inmate,” District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement. “Just as the alleged violence will not be tolerated, neither will the coverup, especially in this turbulent time in Rikers Island.”

Rikers Island has become synonymous with dysfunction as the complex’s roughly 6,000 inmates have been subjected to violence and neglect for years, according to the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news outlet focused on criminal justice.

Nineteen inmates died in 2022, the highest number since 2013 when the prison’s population was nearly twice as large, according to the New York Times.

This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 6:52 PM with the headline "3 prison guards covered up unprovoked inmate assault, New York prosecutor says."