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JULY 21, 2014
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The review is part of a broader investigation looking into violence and corruption at Rikers Island. Credit Richard Perry/The New York Times
New York City’s Department of Investigation has begun a review of scores of cases involving inmates at Rikers Island who were assaulted by correction officers and suffered serious injuries.
The department, which combats corruption in city agencies, is looking into the 129 cases from an 11-month period in 2013 that were detailed in an article in The New York Times last week, said Diane Struzzi, the department’s spokeswoman.
The injuries were the focus of a secret report, completed this year by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and obtained by The Times, highlighting a culture of violence that, in particular, victimizes inmates with mental illnesses.
The review of the cases is now part of a broader investigation that the watchdog agency has been conducting at Rikers involving violence and corruption. It is being staffed by 30 investigators, including 19 who work on the inquiry full time. Already, eight correction officers and a captain have been arrested, and charged with assaults on inmates, contraband smuggling and falsifying documents to cover up malfeasance.
Mark G. Peters, the commissioner for the city's Department of Investigation, said in an interview on Monday that reforming Rikers Island was a significant priority. Credit John Minchillo/Associated Press
In an interview on Monday, Mark G. Peters, the department’s commissioner, called Rikers Island “a significant priority” for his agency, and said his investigators are trying to determine the “scope and contours of the problem” at the jail complex.
He emphasized that issues at Rikers appeared to go beyond mere brutality, and highlighted in particular efforts to cover up incidents. He described a case from October in which three correction officers assaulted an inmate, then, with the help of a captain, fabricated evidence to make it look as if the man tried to hang himself with his own pants.
In a video of the episode viewed by The Times, the officers can be seen scuffling with the inmate at the cell’s threshold, then pushing their way inside. They spent about three minutes there, during which, according to the Investigation Department, they threw the inmate to the floor and repeatedly kicked and punched him in the head and torso. A minute later, according to the video, a captain entered the cell and was heard by a nearby inmate discussing how to handle the situation, the department said.
Correction Department rules permit officers to enter an inmate’s cell only when there is an immediate threat, such as a suicide attempt.
In the 15 minutes that followed, the captain is seen heading to a jail clinic, where she fashions a noose out of the inmate’s pants, twisting the legs and tying them together in a loop. She then places the pants on the floor and uses a digital camera to take photographs that the department said were eventually uploaded to the Correction Department’s incident reporting system.
The case is troubling “because there was a supervisor whose job it was to make sure that we follow the rules who manufactured evidence to help the people she supervises to break the rules,” Mr. Peters said. “That’s an attack not on an individual inmate, but upon the justice system and civil order.”
The Investigation Department referred the case to the Bronx district attorney’s office for prosecution in March and then raised it with prosecutors again in June in a letter. With any case referred to prosecutors, Mr. Peters said, there is a “careful review by a number of veteran prosecutors” at the department “who conclude that there is a criminal matter that can be prosecuted.”
Even so, last week Robert T. Johnson, the Bronx district attorney, declined to prosecute the matter.
The department’s inquiry into Rikers, which began in June, followed a stream of revelations published in The Times and elsewhere about serious problems at the jail complex. In the last nine months, one inmate, a mentally ill Marine Corps veteran, died in an overheated cell, while another died after being locked in a cell for seven days, naked and covered in feces.
Document: A June 2014 Letter From the New York City Department of Investigation
The City of New York
Department of Investigation
MARK G. PETERS
COMMISSIONER
Inspector General Jennifer Sculco
80 Maiden Lane
New York, New York 10038
212-825-2171
Hon. Robert Johnson
Office of the Bronx District Attorney
198 East 161st Street
Bronx, New York 10451
Dear District Attorney Johnson:
The Department of Investigation ("DOI") has been conducting a broad investigation of issues relating to the Department of Correction ("DOC") [DELETE]. As a result of our ongoing investigation, DOI has established evidence of a series of criminal acts that we now formally refer to you for prosecution. [1]
Because DOI's investigation is ongoing, we may have additional referrals, and the facts in this letter are not the full extent of our findings, which will be presented, as is DOI practice, in a public report at the conclusion of the investigation. We believe, however, that the criminal acts described below require immediate attention and so present them to your office prior to our full report.
Captain [DELETE] and Correction Officers [DELETE], [DELETE] & [DELETE] [DELETE]:
Based on a review of various DOC records and photographs, interviews of inmates and officers, and a review of video surveillance footage, DOI determined the following:
On October 30, 2013, Correction Officers ("COs") [DELETE], [DELETE] and [DELETE] assaulted inmate [DELETE] inside his cell at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center ("OBCC") on Rikers Island. The evidence further shows that COs [DELETE], [DELETE] and [DELETE] entered [DELETE]'s cell in violation of DOC "Use of Force" guidelines, which, among other things, prohibited the officers from entering the cell in which [DELETE] was confined in the absence of an immediate threat. [2] Nevertheless, in violation of this directive and in the absence of an immediate threat, COs [DELETE], [DELETE] and [DELETE] entered the cell and threw inmate [DELETE] to the floor and proceeded to kick and strike him about his torso and face. Photographic evidence shows that inmate [DELETE] sustained substantial abrasions and contusions to his facial area as a result of COs [DELETE], [DELETE] and [DELETE]'s use of force against him.
DOI's investigation established that, in an effort to demonstrate an "immediate threat" necessary to justify their entry into inmate [DELETE]'s cell and the resulting use of physical force against [DELETE], COs [DELETE] and [DELETE] each filed a false Use of Force report with DOC which contained a fictionalized version of the incident that [DELETE] had attempted to commit suicide inside the cell by fashioning a noose out of his pants and hanging himself from a table located in the rear of his cell.
DOI's investigation further determined that, after responding to the scene of the assault against inmate [DELETE], Captain [DELETE] directly participated in the cover up of the unnecessary use of force against [DELETE] by fashioning a "noose" from a pair of DOC issued inmate pants and then subsequently documenting the fabricated noose in photographs which were later uploaded to DOC's incident reporting system to be used as evidence in official DOC proceedings relating to the incident.
Of particular significance, during the course of the investigation, DOI obtained the following evidence:
• A review by DOI of video surveillance from the housing area corroborates inmate [DELETE]'s version of events and the assault, and is inconsistent with the Use of Force reports submitted by COs [DELETE], [DELETE] and [DELETE]. Specifically, this video evidence shows that Inmate [DELETE] did not attempt to hang himself as described by the officers in their official reports. Rather, video of the doorway to the cell shows a person's head at the door window before COs [DELETE] and [DELETE] entered the cell, which is inconsistent with [DELETE]'s attempting to hang himself at the rear of the cell.
• A statement obtained by DOI from a neighboring inmate in [DELETE]'s housing area further corroborates that [DELETE] did not attempt to hang himself as described by the officers in their official reports.
• Video surveillance [DELETE] captures the entirety of Captain [DELETE]'s criminal conduct, and specifically shows her fabricating the noose by twisting and tying a pair of inmate pants into a noose and then photographing the same.
• Interviews with other DOC personnel present [DELETE] further established that [DELETE] was twisting a pair of DOC pants as seen on the video.
• A copy of the DOC incident report associated with this event includes photographs of the noose fashioned by Captain [DELETE] which could have been used as evidence against inmate [DELETE] in DOC disciplinary proceedings for destruction of DOC property, among other possible infractions reported in the submitted false staff reports.
The above findings as to COs [DELETE], [DELETE] and [DELETE] may implicate various sections of the New York State Penal Law ("PL") including, but not limited to: PL §§ 110/120.06 (Attempted Gang Assault in the Second Degree), PL § 175.10 (Falsification of Business Records in the First Degree) and PL § 175.35 (Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree).
The above findings as to Captain [DELETE] may implicate various sections of the New York State PL including, but not limited to: PL § 215.40(1)(a) (Tampering with Physical Evidence).
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
Captain [DELETE] and Correction Officers [DELETE] & [DELETE]
Based on a review of various DOC records and photographs, interviews of inmates and DOC officers, and a review of OCME reports, DOI determined the following:
DOI's investigation established that, on October 30, 2012, inside the ORVC facility, Captain [DELETE], along with COs [DELETE] and [DELETE] assaulted inmate [DELETE] in violation of DOC's "Use of Force" guidelines. Specifically, DOI determined that during the course of being transferred to another cell, inmate [DELETE] was escorted rear-cuffed out of the housing area, and led by Captain [DELETE] and CO [DELETE] into the back corner of a staircase vestibule out of view of the housing area and facility cameras, where he was assaulted by Captain [DELETE], CO [DELETE] and CO [DELETE]. As a result of the incident, inmate [DELETE] provided statements to both DOI and DOC investigators that during the course of the assault he was struck numerous times about his body by multiple people. [DELETE] further described being struck with a baton as part of the assault.
Captain [DELETE], CO [DELETE], and CO [DELETE] each submitted false Use of Force reports that were consistent with one another -- claiming inmate [DELETE] was the initial aggressor and omitting any mention of the use of the use of a baton, or a description of physical force that would be consistent with the injuries the inmate sustained.
[DELETE]
• [DELETE]
• Photographs of inmate [DELETE]'s injuries show multiple patterned and non-patterned contusions and abrasions on his body. [DELETE] consistent with being struck by a long cylindrical object such as a DOC issued baton.
The above findings as to Captain [DELETE], CO [DELETE], and CO [DELETE] may implicate various sections of the New York State PL including, but not limited to: PL § § 110/120.06 (Attempted Gang Assault in the Second Degree), PL § 120.05(2) (Assault in the Second Degree), PL § 175.10 (Falsification of Business Records in the First Degree) and PL § 175.35 (Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree).
All of the above involve possible criminal offenses were committed by uniformed members of DOC staff tasked with ensuring the care, custody and control of inmates housed within DOC's Rikers Island facilities. As such, we believe these are serious criminal cases that require immediate attention to ensure the continued safety and security of these facilities and the inmates housed therein. I look forward to hearing from you about the status of these matters.
Very Truly Yours,
Mark G. Peters
By:
Jennifer Sculco, Inspector General
cc: [DELETE]
[DELETE]
[DELETE]
[DELETE]
_______________
Notes:
1. DOI previously referred aspects of several of these cases to your Office, but not the full scope of what is contained below, including [DELETE]'s falsification of documents and evidence by DOC staff.
2. See: DOC Directive 5006R-C.
3. [DELETE]
4. [DELETE]
5. [DELETE]
6. See: DOC Use of Force Directive 5006R-C.
In its four-month investigation, The Times found that inmates had suffered fractured jaws and eye sockets, wounds requiring stitches and severe head and back injuries during altercations with correction officers. Some were beaten by multiple guards, while handcuffed, and after suicide attempts, sometimes in full view of witnesses, including other inmates and medical personnel.
Though still early in its inquiry, the Investigation Department has uncovered multiple cases of contraband smuggling and falsification of evidence by correction officers. Two officers were arrested in June after they were caught with up to eight ounces of cocaine during a sweep by department investigators.
The Investigation Department, which was created in 1873 in response to the endemic municipal corruption of the Gilded Age, monitors 45 city agencies for corruption and misconduct. The department has the authority to enact an arrest, but typically refers cases to the district attorney for prosecution.
In the past, the department has investigated Rikers Island in a piecemeal fashion, focusing on individual cases. After taking office in February, Mr. Peters said it became clear that a more systemic investigation was warranted, and he assigned more investigators to the examination.
He said he had received strong support in his efforts from Joseph Ponte, the commissioner of the Correction Department, who took office in April and has vowed to reform Rikers Island.
More arrests are expected before the department wraps up its investigation in the fall, Mr. Peters said.
Though he said it was too early to draw conclusions about the investigation, he did say that in order to reduce contraband smuggling, there should be more screening of correction officers when they enter the jails.
“Given the arrests we’ve done, there’s no doubt that correction officers are involved in smuggling,” he said. “But until we finish our investigation, we can’t speculate on the full scope of the involvement.”
Mr. Peters also said he opposed calls by lawyers with the Legal Aid Society and others for an outside federal monitor to oversee the jails, similar to those who oversee the Fire and Police Departments.
“Federal monitors and the Department of Justice get involved when localities are unwilling or unable to fix institutional problems,” he said. “We are absolutely willing and able to investigate this matter.”