A 25-year-old at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island died on August 10th, corrections authorities confirmed to Gothamist/WNYC. Officers found Brandon Rodriguez unresponsive in his cell, attempted to perform CPR, and called for medical staff. Soon after the medical team arrived, they declared the young man to be deceased.
The city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner did not confirm the cause of Rodriguez’s death.
Court records show police arrested Rodriguez six days earlier, on August 4th. At the time of his death, he was facing a misdemeanor charge for “criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation.” Following his arrest, a judge imposed a $3,000 cash bail and $10,000 bond, neither of which the detainee had posted at the time of his initial court hearings.
“We are working closely with all relevant agencies to investigate the cause and circumstances so that we may better understand how this happened,” said Department of Correction Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi. “Mr. Rodriguez’s loved ones have our utmost sympathy, this is an awful, painful tragedy.”
A healthcare worker at Rikers, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject, told Gothamist/WNYC that Rodriguez’s death reflected systemic dysfunction in the city jails system.
“Rodriguez’s death is in the context of an acute humanitarian crisis fueled by DOC staff shortages and poor facility management,” he said.
"Brandon's death is tragic but entirely unsurprising,” said Darren Mack, co-director of the jails reform group Freedom Agenda. “There have already been reports of entire housing units completely unstaffed for hours at a time. On Rikers, that means there is no way to get medical attention or anything else you may need.”
Rodriguez’s passing follows several other deaths at the troubled facility, which the city has promised to close in the coming years. In July, the NY Post reported that the Department of Investigation is probing the death of Robert Jackson, a detainee who was found dead after being left unsupervised by a correctional officer who allegedly left his post.
