A correction officer at New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex was slashed by an inmate Tuesday, officials said.
The jail guard was injured around 3 p.m. at the George R. Vierno Center, the city’s Department of Correction told Fox News Digital. The officer was cut behind the ear and taken to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition.
NYC SHOULD BE HELD IN CONTEMPT OVER APPALLING RIKERS CONDITIONS, COURT-APPOINTED MONITOR SAYS
“Acts of violence against our officers by noncompliant individuals will not be tolerated. Our thoughts are with the injured officer,” said DOC Commissioner Louis Molina. “The person in custody responsible for this senseless act will be rearrested.”
The incident is under investigation.
The alleged attack came amid a troubling time for the massive jail complex. Two correction officers and an assistant deputy warden have been suspended for “procedural violations” related to the death of an inmate, the DOC told Fox News Digital.
The jail guards and supervisor failed to make their rounds at a housing unit where Curtis Davis, 44, was found dead Sunday, Department of Correction sources told the New York Post. Davis was being held on $30,000 bond following his June 1 arrest in Brooklyn on assault and weapons possession charges.
His death was the seventh for inmates in custody at the jail this year. In 2022, at least 19 people died in Rikers Island.