An inmate at Riker’s Island stabbed a corrections officer 15 times on Monday in what was described as an unprovoked attack. Official reports said the attack happened at 4:45 p.m. inside the Anna M. Kross Center, where inmate Dennis Applewhite lunged at the officer and knifed him repeatedly at the back of his head.
According to ABC 7 News, the New York City Department of Corrections stated the assault left the officer with serious injuries and was taken to Elmhurst Hospital for treatment. He is listed to be in stable condition. Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association President Benny Boscio said the Executive Board along with NYC Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Corrections Commissioner Luis Molina came to the hospital to visit the officer whom they said was conscious and undergoing tests.
The officer was working at the Anna M. Kross Center protective custody unit when Applewhite ambushed the unnamed officer and brutally stabbed him 15 times.
"This was an unprovoked heinous and callous attack on one of our dedicated officers, who was simply doing their job," Commissioner Molina said in a statement.
Applewhite has been behind bars while awaiting trial on charges of murdering his girlfriend, Brittani Duffy, 27, who was also three months pregnant at the time in her apartment in November last year. Duffy died from a gunshot to her neck. Applewhite has now been re-arrested as the DOC further investigates the attack.
In his statement to the media, Boscio implied the necessity of having solitary confinement in city jails. At the same time, Molina pressed on to say that the DOC will not tolerate any such assaults on their Members of Service who show up to do their job to keep jails safe
“This heinous attack demonstrates exactly why the Public Advocate and City Council must immediately pull the Bill to end punitive segregation before one of us gets killed,” Boscio remarked.
In June, New York City pleaded with federal judge Laura Swain to make changes to how these facilities are run. For the third time, the city has resisted calls for a third-party administrator to manage the facility. A hearing on the matter is scheduled on Nov.17. Records show that as of the current year, 17 inmates have died in New York City’s custody - the highest since 2013. This has also surpassed last year’s record with the death of 16 inmates.
