NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The family of an inmate who choked to death on food at Rikers Island is suing the city for $20 million.
On March 18, Herman Diaz, 52, started choking while no supervising officers were in the housing area, forcing other inmates to carry their fellow prisoner to a clinic "while officers looked on," according to legal documents obtained by the New York Post.
The lawsuit alleges he was "left helpless and denied care until it was too late, he died."
There have been 11 deaths in New York City Department of Correction custody this year, with the majority of them taking place on Rikers Island.
Sixteen people died in DOC custody over the course of 2021.
The family of another Rikers Island inmate who died in custody in May, Mary Yehuda, sued the city for $50 million.
The litany of deaths and subsequent lawsuits comes as the city fights to keep control of Rikers Island.
The Legal Aid Society, which is representing detainees at Rikers, pushed for a federal takeover of the troubled prison in order to force the DOC to take steps to end the humanitarian crisis there.
A federal judge instead approved the city's action plan to reform Rikers in June. The court will review the city's progress in November.
