NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A man in custody at Rikers Island jail complex died Wednesday night, according to the New York City Department of Correction, marking the second person to die there in the span of one week.
Officers at the George R. Vierno Center found the man experiencing what appeared to be a seizure at about 7:49 p.m., correction officials said.
Doctors and medics responded, but the man could not be revived and was pronounced dead at 8:35 p.m.
“The Department has tragically lost a person in our custody,” NYC Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie said. “We share our deepest sympathies with his loved ones. Every aspect of this incident will be investigated.”
The man’s identity was not immediately released pending family notification. Jail officials notified local and federal authorities of the death, including the city Department of Investigation, as required by law.
The death comes less than one week after Bronx resident Jimmy Avila died at Rikers’ West Facility on Saturday, three days after being charged in a triple shooting.
According to correction officials, medical staff were called to revive Avila just before 4:30 p.m. for an unknown reason, but he could not be saved.
The Legal Aid Society said that Avila, 44, was at the facility for less than 24 hours, and should have been under close supervision considering his history of mental illness.
“This recent death in custody, on top of the other recent deaths of New Yorkers in DOC and NYPD’s care, is not an isolated tragedy but a devastating result of a system that continues to fail in its most basic duty: to protect those in its charge," Tina Luongo, chief attorney of the criminal defense practice at the Legal Aid Society, said in a statement Thursday.
In addition to the inmate deaths on Rikers Island this week, two men died in NYPD custody on Friday and Sunday, respectively, officials said. Musa Cetin, 29, was found hanged in his cell in Midtown Manhattan, while Christopher Nieves, 46, suffered a medical episode in Brooklyn Criminal Court.
"To date, we have seen absolutely no indication from City Hall of any plan to address this crisis. There has been no acknowledgment of its systemic nature, no commitment to reform, and no vision for change," Luongo continued. "Instead, grieving families and defense counsel are met with obfuscation, while the City scrambles to cover its own failures rather than confront them.”
Twelve people have died in or shortly after being released from Department of Correction custody this year.