By Forum Staff
State Attorney General Tish James on Tuesday released her report on the death of Michael Nieves, who died on Aug. 30, 2022 after attempting to take his own life on Aug. 25 while he was incarcerated on Rikers Island.
Following an investigation, the AG’s Office of Special Investigation concluded that a prosecutor “would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that the correction officers staffed on Nieves’ unit committed a crime, and therefore criminal charges would not be pursued. In its report, OSI recommends that the City Department of Correction should train all correction officers on proper wound care and establish a clear requirement that correction officers should provide immediate wound care to incarcerated people who are severely bleeding.
On the morning of Aug. 25, Nieves, 40, was issued a handheld razor for use in the shower. When Nieves was finished with his shower, the correction officer who issued the razor asked for it back, but Nieves said he had lost it. The correction officer called for the captain, and together with another correction officer they searched Nieves’ cell, as well as the cell of another person who had been in the showers at the same time. When they did not find the razor, the correction officers and the captain returned to Nieves’ cell, where they found him leaning against the wall surrounded by blood, and bleeding profusely from what appeared to be his face or neck. They offered Nieves a shirt and blanket to put pressure on the wound, but he declined. When asked whether he was bleeding from his head or his neck, Nieves said it was his neck. The captain called for medical assistance, but did not share details of the injury, and medical staff were not equipped with gauze or other wound care materials when they arrived on the unit. Medical staff called 911 for emergency medical services, who then rushed Nieves to the hospital. Nieves was declared brain dead on Aug. 26, and died on Aug. 30.
Following a preliminary assessment of the incident, OSI determined that the failure of the captain and the correction officers to provide immediate aid to Nieves qualified as an omission, or failure to perform a duty imposed by law, which contributed to Nieves’ death. Therefore, OSI conducted this investigation pursuant to Executive Law Section 70-b.
The OSI’s investigation found conflicting information as to whether correction officers are trained in wound care, and it was not clear whether or not correction officers are trained to treat severe wounds themselves or to wait for medical staff to arrive. Currently, training requires correction officers to transport an incarcerated person to the clinic or otherwise wait for medical staff unless the person has stopped breathing, in which case the correction officer should provide CPR, or if the person is attempting suicide using a ligature, in which case the correction officer should cut or otherwise disable the ligature. The only specific reference to bleeding in correction officers’ rules and regulations directs officers to bring someone who is bleeding to the clinic.
Under state law, prosecuting criminally negligent homicide for an omission would require proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the correction officers and the captain knew that waiting for medical staff to assist Nieves would lead to his death.
