NYC found in contempt over ongoing violence in city jails, including excessive force
NEW YORK - A federal judge found New York City in contempt Wednesday over worsening conditions in its jails, noting that despite a 2015 settlement over abuse and violence claims, conditions have deteriorated further over the past nine years.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan issued a written ruling finding the city in contempt over 18 separate contempt claims.
"The use of force rate and other rates of violence, self-harm, and deaths in custody are demonstrably worse than when the Consent Judgment went into effect," she wrote.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed in 2012 by the Legal Aid Society and others, accusing the city’s Department of Correction of using excessive and unnecessary force in its jails.
Advocates for inmates say correction officers still use head strikes on inmates and prohibited techniques such as chokeholds, body-slamming and inflicting force on people in restraints.
Although a settlement and consent decree were reached in Oct. 2015, the judge noted that conditions have only worsened over the past decade.
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She ordered all parties to agree on remedies over the next several weeks.
The Department of Correction and the Legal Aid Society did not immediately respond to a request for comment according to AP.
The advocates also argued that the agency’s leadership has consistently ignored the recommendations of a monitor and have failed to take steps to curb abuses.
In September, Judge Swain also directed city officials to begin developing a plan for a possible federal takeover of Rikers Island.