Three New York City jail workers were suspended this week after allegedly looking on as an inmate who slit his own throat bled out on Rikers Island, officials and advocates said Wednesday.
Michael Nieves, 40 — who had been in custody since 2019 on charges of burglary, arson and reckless endangerment — was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital at 9:47 p.m. Tuesday, city officials said.
The city Department of Correction said a preliminary review had led to the suspension of three uniformed staff members.
“Any death in custody is a tragedy and we will be investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident,” DOC Commissioner Louis Molina said in a statement.
“This is a painful loss,” he said. “Losing a loved one who is incarcerated is traumatic, and we send our deepest condolences to Mr. Nieves’ family and all those he held dear.”
The advocacy group Freedom Agenda said Nieves bled to death while corrections officers and a captain watched.
“While Mayor [Eric] Adams was publicly questioning whether we should or could send less people to jail, a man with serious mental illness was clinging to life after guards ignored his suicide attempt,” the group’s co-director, Darren Mack, said.
“Michael Nieves should have gotten treatment, not the brutality of Rikers. What else needs to happen for our city to stop sending people with mental health needs to a place where they will not get treatment, and where they may not even survive?”
The DOC didn’t address questions about the group’s allegations.
Nieves had been in and out of mental health treatment since his March 2019 arrest for allegedly terrorizing a woman in a Hamilton Heights apartment. He was accused of lighting a fire after trying to lock the woman in a bedroom with him, according to the criminal complaint against him.
He was arraigned that April, but in October was found unfit to stand trial following a mental examination, a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said.
Nieves was held in a state facility until he was found fit in May 2020 – but another exam in November 2021 found him unfit again, the DA spokesperson said.
He was found unfit a third time in March 2022, and sent to a state mental health facility before he was deemed fit in June.
A judge ordered yet another mental exam at his final court appearance on Aug. 1, prosecutors said. His next court date had been scheduled for Sept. 6.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
Nieves’ death marks the 13th in-custody death at the DOC this year. There were 16 in-custody deaths last year – the most since 2016 and more than 2019 and 2020 combined.
The DOC said all deaths in custody are first investigated by the state Attorney General’s Office and the NYC Department of Investigation.
The head of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association said the agency would help fight the suspensions.
“While there remains an ongoing investigation into this incident, our officers will be provided the best possible representation to fight these suspensions and ensure their rights are protected,” association president Benny Boscio said in a statement.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
Additional reporting by Mark Lungariello