2 Correction Officers Suspended After Prisoner Escapes At Rikers Island
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Two Rikers Island corrections officers have been suspended without pay after a prisoner escaped on their watch last week, officials announced Sunday.
The inmate was in a recreational area when he jumped over a small fence this past Wednesday night - setting the entire island on lockdown.
Naquan Hill, 24, who is in jail for burglary, was found on the island just before 3 a.m. Thursday and taken back into custody. Officials say two Department of Correction staffers found him on the island. He was found in a trailer yards from the center where he was later held.
The Correction Officers' Benevolent Association defended the officers, saying New York City correction officers had custody of more than 75,000 inmates last year alone and none escaped despite plots to do so.
"Even in last week's incident, it was two Correction Officers who caught the escapee and successfully returned him back to our custody," union president Elias Husamudeen said in a statement. "We will provide our two officers with the best representation possible and will vigorously defend them."