“We’re at the epicenter of the epicenter,” a spokesman for the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association says. “You want to talk about social distancing, but you have housing areas in jails that are 50 inmates to one officer”
to release more than 2,000 inmates who are elderly, ill or accused of nonviolent offenses.
Michael Skelly, spokesman for the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, which represents jail guards, said the city took too long to shut down in-person inmate visits, increase segregation of at-risk inmates and supply staff with enough gloves, masks and hand sanitizer. The focus on releasing inmates has overshadowed the plight of corrections officers, he said.
“The health and well-being of our personnel and people in custody is our top priority,” the department said in a statement. Another Rikers inmate, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Tyrell, said he has watched several other men fall ill and be removed from his dormitory without any explanation. New inmates have been assigned the empty beds with little apparent cleaning, he said.
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