Rikers Officer Needs 26 Stitches After ‘Horrific' Attack by Inmates

Two inmates have been charged with slashing a Rikers Island correction officer in the face and wrist, leaving him with more than two dozen stitches and glaring lacerations across his head.

William Whitfield, 18, and Darnell Green, 19, did not enter pleas at their arraignment Friday in Bronx Criminal Court. They were ordered held on $500,000 bail on assault and other charges stemming from the attack Thursday evening on officer Ray Calderon.

An attorney for Whitfield, who is being held at Rikers on an attempted murder charge, said his client was presumed innocent and planned to contest the charges. A lawyer for Green, who is being detained at Rikers in a murder case, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Green approached Calderon from behind and wrapped both arms around his neck, choking him as Whitfield advanced with a sharp object, according to a criminal complaint. Calderon then kicked Whitfield, fell to the ground with Green and was slashed on the left side of his face along his forehead, cheek and ear, as well as his right wrist, the court papers show.

"A correction officer was doing his job conducting his inspection the way he is supposed to when an inmate emerged, grabbed him around his neck, put him in a chokehold and another inmate commenced slashing his face repeatedly with what we believe was a scalpel or a razor, missing his jugular vein," Norman Seabrook, president of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association, said. "This would have been a different story had he hit the officer's jugular vein." 

Photos obtained by NBC 4 New York show nearly half a dozen bloody cuts streaking across the left side of Calderon's face. One jagged mark stretches from the corner of his left eye up beyond his hairline; another reaches from his left ear down to his neck.

He was hospitalized for treatment but was discharged Thursday night, authorities said.

Department of Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte said he was "outraged by this horrific assault." He said he visited the injured officer in the hospital and pledged to support him and his family.

"Attacks against the hardworking men and women who serve in our department are unacceptable and will not be tolerated," Ponte said in a statement.

Seabrook said the two inmates "brazenly attempted to murder" the officer.

"Correction officers have the right to return home to their families safely every night," Seabrook said. "This violence is unacceptable."

Exactly what type of sharp object was used in the attack wasn't immediately clear, and officials said investigators are examining how the inmates obtained it. City officials have moved to restrict visitors to Rikers, arguing those visits are an entry point for weapons. But a report earlier this year found that nearly 80 percent of the 2,100 weapons recovered in city jails in 2014 were shivs and shanks made out of materials found inside the jails.

Ponte said DOC has already tightened entrance procedures to keep weapons and contraband out of jails, bolstered security camera coverage and redesigned emergency response teams to get to officers faster when they are in dangerous situations. The DOCs facilities are on lockdown as the agency conducts searches to root out contraband, authorities said.

Ponte said the DOC will also issue a new use-of-force policy that will give officers more guidance when placed in "situations where force may be necessary for the safety and security of staff and inmates."

Seabrook said the DOC shouldn't issue new guidelines without consulting the union.

"We demand action and a seat at the table from the leadership of the department," Seabrook said.

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