NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- A correction officer working on Rikers Island was assaulted in an “unprovoked” attack that broke their jaw over the weekend.
The Department of Correction confirmed that on Friday at around 7 a.m., an officer was escorting detainees at the Anna M. Kross Center when they were assaulted by a person in custody.
According to the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association (COBA), the officer was left with the injury at the hands of an inmate being held on a second-degree murder charge.
The person responsible is Erneste Wright, who is charged with strangling his girlfriend in a Times Square hotel, the Daily News reported. They say he was working cleaning detail when he punched the officer.
Wright reportedly told police his girlfriend, Kayla Estevez, “did this to herself” in the case where she was found with massive injuries.
The union said the officer will need to undergo surgery due to his injury.
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“Assaulting one of our officers is never acceptable. We are investigating this incident and will pursue rearrests as necessary,” said a Department of Correction spokesperson.
DOC officials said their Correction Assistance Response for Employees unit responded to the scene in order to provide holistic and spiritual support.
COBA took aim at Mayor Bill de Blasio in the wake of this attack, saying, “While Mayor de Blasio blames out officers for his staffing crisis, his latest Mayor’s Management Report released last week reveals that 1,2000 correction officers have been the victims of inmate assaults of the past year.”
Wright’s criminal record includes 14 arrests, The Daily News said.
“This is the environment our officers must endure day in and day out, while we are labeled as being AWOL and scapegoated for this crisis Mayor de Blasio’s criminal negligence has caused,” the COBA statement said.
Around 20 Department of Correction officers were suspended for skipping work two weeks ago, which came just after de Blasio announced emergency actions at Rikers Island — including a 30-day suspension without pay for AWOL officers.
De Blasio is due to visit Rikers Monday afternoon. Before the visit, COBA said de Blasio should apologize to the correction officer, saying his “failed policies” resulted in the attack.
Twelve Rikers inmates have died in custody in 2021, with the latest coming last Wednesday.
The calls for change, including a full closure of the jail, have spanned far and wide, including a contingent of New York politicians like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman.
Several politicians have made visits to the island in recent weeks, including Councilman Stephen Levin, who was reportedly hit by an “unknown liquid substance” at the hands of an inmate.
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