Ash J

At least 4 NYC "correction officers failed to act for seven minutes as an 18-year-old detainee tried to hang himself at the Rikers Island jail complex, with some of them watching the suicide attempt before intervening, according to four people with knowledge of the matter."

"The officers have been suspended while the city’s Department of Investigation conducts an inquiry, officials said. The inmate was hospitalized and put into a medically induced coma on Tuesday, the people said."

"The suicide attempt was captured on a video feed that the officers are expected to monitor periodically, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly."

"The actions of the officers, one of whom was a supervisor, were recorded by a separate camera, the people said."

"On the video, which was described to The Times, one officer can be seen going to the pen where Mr. Feliciano was hanging, opening the door, closing the door without entering and then walking away, the person said."

"Cynthia Brann, the city correction commissioner, said in a statement that the agency had suspended three officers and a captain and confirmed that the city’s Department of Investigation was conducting an independent inquiry."

"In October, the City Council approved a plan to close Rikers Island within seven years and to replace it with what officials envision as safer, smaller and more humane jails that will become a model for the rest of the country." NY Times just parrots the new jails propaganda.

"Mr. Feliciano was in the Elmhurst Hospital Prison Ward on Tuesday, according to city jail records. He was on a respirator with no brain activity, the people with knowledge of the matter said."

"He was arrested on Nov. 19 on a parole violation and was being held at the complex’s George R. Vierno Center when he tried to hang himself."

"At some point, one of the people said, Mr. Feliciano apparently had second thoughts about what he was doing as he began to choke and tried to put his feet back on the partition in hopes of saving himself. "

"Seven minutes passed before the officers intervened to free Mr. Feliciano from the makeshift noose, said the person, who noted that Rikers Island inmates sometimes threaten suicide as a manipulative gesture."

"In 2012, the building where Mr. Feliciano tried to hang himself was the scene of a brutal beating of an inmate by five correction officers who were later convicted by a Bronx jury on charges that included attempted gang assault and official misconduct."

"A spokeswoman for Darcel D. Clark, the Bronx district attorney, whose jurisdiction includes the Rikers Island complex, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. A Department of Investigation spokeswoman declined to comment."

"Feliciano remains on life support in the prison ward at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens nearly a week after his attempted suicide."

"The Legal Aid Society — the public defender organization that represents Feliciano in court — has called on the DOC to give his family complete access to his hospital room. Right now, family members must abide by jail visiting hours and restrictions."

"Feliciano’s grandmother, Madeline Feliciano, felt humiliated by correction officers after visiting Feliciano on Wednesday, a source said. When she asked an officer if she and other family members could be alone with her grandson, the officer said no."

"The officer then proceeded to search under his pillows, in the closets and other parts of the room while Madeline Feliciano and her daughter were trying to pray."

"The Times and the Daily News alleged Feliciano tried to buy or had purchased a gun, but two persons with knowledge of the case who spoke on condition of anonymity said the source of the firearm allegations were text messages on Feliciano's phone found by parole officers"

"Feliciano was in a fight Thanksgiving Eve and needed medical attention. Instead of being taken to a clinic for treatment, he was held for hours in a holding cell by himself."

"He acted erratically before hanging himself while a group of guards watched. Both Feliciano and the guards are seen on camera, according to the Times' report."

"New York State reincarcerates more parolees for technical violations of release conditions than any other state except Illinois, based on an examination of data from the 42 states that keep it, Gothamist reported back in April."

"On Rikers, at the same time the number of overall prisoners has been dropping, the number of technical parole violators has been increasing, according to the Mayor's Office."

"The latest data confirms that the number of New Yorkers held on Rikers for technical parole violations—as opposed to new crimes—is continuing to grow."

"777 were held in October 2019, 6.9 percent more than the 727 technical violators that were held on Rikers in October 2018, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services reported."

"As Mr. Martinez was being taken to an infirmary, he recalled his friend saying, 'If they separate us, I’m going to kill myself.' It was no idle threat."