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Detainee Found Dead In His Cell At Rikers Island
By
George Joseph
Published Aug 30, 2021
Modified Aug 30, 2021
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By
George Joseph
Published Aug 30, 2021
Modified Aug 30, 2021
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Segundo Guallpa, a man incarcerated at Rikers Island, passed away Monday morning in an apparent suicide, according to New York City’s Department of Correction.
A corrections officer, who was conducting a tour of an area in the North Infirmary Command, found Guallpa, 58, unresponsive in his cell. The guard alerted medical staff, which attempted to administer emergency aid. Guallpa was pronounced dead at approximately 1:30 am.
“This is a terrible tragedy. We have been in contact with Mr. Guallpa’s next of kin and extended our deep condolences. We are providing assistance to our fellow law enforcement and oversight agencies as we conduct a full investigation,” DOC Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi said in a statement.
Mr. Guallpa entered Department of Correction custody on August 19, 2021, just eleven days before his death. He had been charged with 2nd degree strangulation.
Guallpa’s death is part of a larger recent health crisis in New York City’s jails, said a health care provider, who works on Rikers and requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
“For months, the restrictions put in place for COVID-19, rising population numbers, and the mass absenteeism of corrections officers have led to pressure in the jails,” the health care provider said. “People are sicker, they’re not able to get healthcare that they need, and that includes mental health care. The fact there have been so many people who have harmed themselves recently is of great concern.”
Guallpa’s suicide comes less than three weeks after the death of Brandon Rodriguez, a 25-year-old who was found hanging in his cell with a shirt tied around his neck, according to city jail records reviewed by Gothamist/WNYC*.* Rodriguez was in jail for the misdemeanor charge, “criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation,” but had not posted bail.
Since March there have been at least six deaths inside the troubled jail complex, which is supposed to close and be replaced with four borough-based jails in the coming years.
After Rodriguez's death, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams declared Rodriguez had received a "death sentence" without going to trial and demanded a full investigation.
The news follows a blistering report earlier this month by the federal court monitor overseeing Rikers, which blamed agency mismanagement and staff failures for the “high level of disorder and chaos” roiling New York City jails. The federal oversight team noted that in the past few months the jails have seen a spike in serious use of force incidents and a “disturbing rise in the level of security lapses.”
Jessica Rodriguez, an anti-prison activist with the community group Eyes on You, tied the in-custody deaths to intolerable conditions for incarcerated people inside Rikers. “A blatant lack of fear of accountability has been proven to exist for the abuse that happens to the people imprisoned behind these walls,” she wrote in an email, pointing to issues of overcrowding, inadequate food provision, and a lack of access to mental and physical health care.
The federal monitor’s report specifically referred to at least four presumed in-custody suicides and self-harm incidents involving detainees in New York City jails since December of 2020. Most of those cases, it said, raised questions about “the adequacy of staff’s response to detainees who are at risk of self-harm.”
This article has been updated to clarify that Brandon Rodriguez had not posted bail at the time of his death.
Tagged
suicide
Rikers Island
Race And Justice Unit
George Joseph
George covers Brooklyn for THE CITY with a focus on criminal justice and housing. He previously worked for WNYC and Gothamist, and has published stories with NPR, ProPublica, Esquire, and The Intercept among other outlets.
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