Rather than immediately cutting the sheet, an officer sprayed the man with pepper spray as he was hanging from the TV mount.
After eventually being cut down, the man fell to the ground and began convulsing, the report said.
That’s when a captain was caught on a body-worn camera yelling at another officer to “bring that dumbass outside.”
When the man began coughing because of the pepper spray, the captain instructed others not to get him any water.
As a result of the incident, the officer was ordered to go to counseling.
A receiver on the horizon
Tuesday’s report is likely to be the last from the monitor before Swain officially appoints a remediation manager to take over control of Rikers Island.
The judge has been interviewing a short list of candidates from the nearly 30 who applied to the position over the summer.
In December, she issued a ruling detailing the sweeping powers the remediation manager will have once they are appointed.
The remediation manager, who will work full time either from Rikers Island or within DOC headquarters, will have administrative, financial, contracting, legal, operational and other powers over the city’s jail system.
They’ll have the power to hire, train, promote, demote, transfer, investigate, evaluate and fire anyone currently working for the DOC except the commissioner. The receiver will also be granted “the authority to enact or change DOC policies, procedures, protocols, systems, and practices.”
Swain will also give the receiver “unlimited access to all records and files maintained by the DOC” and “unlimited access to all DOC facilities, persons in custody, and DOC staff.” They will also be allowed to confidentially interview staff and detainees.
The judge first began seriously considering ordering a receiver in November 2024, when she found the city in contempt of 18 provisions of the consent judgment in the Nunez case.
The Legal Aid Society and Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP, which together represent detainees in the class action case, had called for the appointment of a receiver twice before, arguing that the DOC had continuously shown that it was unable to stem the violent conditions on Rikers.
Swain eventually agreed, and ordered the creation of a receiver in May 2025.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Legal Aid Society said the monitor’s latest report shows that their demands for the “prompt appointment of the remediation manager” were justified.
“Today’s report again confirms that the status quo at Rikers Island has failed,” the public defender firm said in a statement. “Despite multiple court orders, commissioners, city administrations, and reform plans, conditions in the city’s jails remain dangerous, and the city has not demonstrated an ability to deliver the basic safety and care to which people in custody are entitled.”
“This moment demands more than incremental change or recycled promises,” they added. “Extraordinary reform is required to finally bring accountability, stability, and meaningful improvement inside our jails.”