A correction officer was slashed in the face by a Rikers inmate Tuesday night one month after a group of inmates attacked and fractured a guard’s spine.
A correction officer was slashed in the face by an inmate at Rikers.
The officer was inside the George R. Vierno Center just before 8 p.m. when he told an inmate to return the hot pot he’d been using to make coffee, a Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association source said. Instead, the inmate gave the pot to another inmate and then attacked the correction officer after an argument.
“This is the third vicious inmate assault on a Correction Officer since Officer Jean Souffrant sustained a fractured neck following a gang assault on him last month,” a COBA spokesperson said. “We should not have to beg the Mayor, the City Council and the Board of Correction to keep us safe. As long as they remain soft on crimes committed behind bars, jail violence will continue to rise in the city’s jails, jeopardizing thousands of lives.”
It was not immediately clear what the inmate used in the attack.
He was arrested after the attack, DOC Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Peter Thorne said.
“We will work with the Bronx DA to bring serious charges,” Thorne said. “Our officers work tirelessly everyday helping to keep fellow New Yorkers safe. They deserve our thanks, support and respect, nothing less.”
