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Rikers detainee dies playing basketball, in first detainee death of 2024, officials say
By
Jessy Edwards
Published Jan 4, 2024
Modified Jan 4, 2024
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Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
By
Jessy Edwards
Published Jan 4, 2024
Modified Jan 4, 2024
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A Rikers Island detainee died Thursday morning while playing basketball, city officials said.
The man has been identified as 43-year-old Chima Williams. He had been playing basketball for about an hour with a group of detainees at the Eric M. Taylor Center, where the jail complex's new arrivals are typically held, when he collapsed at about 9:45 a.m., Department of Correction spokesperson Annais Morales said in a statement.
He received immediate medical care from staff and medical professionals, but was ultimately pronounced dead, she said.
Morales added the department will conduct a full investigation into his death.
The news marks the first death on Rikers Island this year, and the first death under new correction commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, who replaced Louis Molina in December.
“On behalf of the New York City Department of Correction, we extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Williams’ loved ones. We are conducting a full investigation into this tragic event,” Maginley-Liddie said in a statement.
Last year, nine people died in DOC custody. In 2022, 19 people died in the department’s custody, the highest detainee death rate in a quarter-century.
“Today, yet another person is grieving the loss of their loved one in the custody of the City of New York,” said Darren Mack, co-director of Freedom Agenda, an advocacy organization for incarcerated people, while demanding the city close Rikers “with the urgency it deserves.”
The city is currently facing a potential federal takeover due to rising levels of violence in the jails, including deaths, and a lack of transparency with the federal monitor overseeing the jails.
The DOC said it will notify the federal monitor, the state Attorney General, the NYC Department of Investigation, the Board of Correction, the State Commission of Correction, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the media of the latest detainee death.
Notifying the media about a detainee death indicates a shift in policy for the department. Last May, the DOC said it would no longer inform the media of deaths in custody.
This story has been updated with new information.
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Rikers Island
public safety
Jessy Edwards
Jessy Edwards covers incarceration and public safety. Before working at Gothamist/WNYC, she covered daily and breaking news at NBC New York and Brooklyn news at BK Reader. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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