The Rikers Island inmate found hanging in his cell over the weekend was in a psychiatric hospital two days before his death, the Board of Corrections said Tuesday, as a new report revealed scathing details about the last three deaths behind bars.
Dashawn Carter, 25, was transferred from a psychiatric hospital directly to a general population housing unit at the Anna M. Kross Center on May 5 when he arrived at the lockup on burglary and robbery charges, according to the board and internal records.
Carter, who jailhouse sources previously said suffered from mental health issues, was found by a correction officer hanging in his cell by a sheet attached to a window just two days later.
He’s the fourth in-custody death at the troubled jail complex so far this year. The medical examiner is yet to issue a determination in his death.
The Department of Correction said in a Tuesday statement they are probing Carter’s death.
“Every death in custody is a tragedy. We are working with our partner agencies on an immediate and full investigation,” the DOC said.
Late Monday, the BOC released a scathing report on the previous three deaths in custody and found they occurred when housing units were left unsupervised as the jail continues to reel from a staffing crisis.
Herman Diaz, 52, was eating an orange around 10 a.m. on March 18 when he suddenly choked and collapsed when there was no officer supervising the housing area.
Detainees jumped into action and performed the Heimlich maneuver but when they saw Diaz’s lips turning blue, they ran to get help from the officer stationed in the control unit “bubble” – a closed-in area where COs monitor cameras and cell doors.
The inmates banged on the bubble’s windows but instead of coming out and providing first aid to Diaz, the officer just phoned in a medical emergency, which the on-site clinic claims they never received, the report states. The officer on duty was on Medically Monitored Returned Category 3 duty, which prohibits direct interactions with inmates.
“In the absence of a medical response, at approximately 10:20 the ‘A’ officer opened the unit’s entrance gate to allow people in custody to carry Mr. Diaz to the clinic,” the report explains.
“Along the way to the clinic, officers opened doors and gates to allow them passage to the clinic. None of the officers rendered first aid to Mr. Diaz.”
He was pronounced dead at 10:58 a.m.
George Pagan, 48, died at Elmhurst Hospital on March 17 — nine days after he arrived on Rikers Island after correction officers failed to bring him to nine medical appointments over a six-day period, the report says.
In the days leading up his death, Pagan had been urinating, defecating and vomiting on himself to the point he was hallucinating and unable to walk.
“He was weak, barely ate, and spent his days laying on his bed or the floor. People in custody brought him food and drink,” the report says.
On the day before he died, the officer in charge of guarding the housing area spent their entire shift inside the bubble instead of out on the floor, leading inmates to carry Pagan down to the clinic themselves when they noticed his condition had severely deteriorated.
He was later transported to Elmhurst Hospital where he was pronounced dead the following morning.
A review of Pagan’s medical records show he did not receive his methadone medication on three occasions or “critical” alcohol withdrawal medication on four other occasions in the 48 hours before he was transported to the hospital.
Pagan’s legal team told the BOC he was due to be discharged and placed in a court-ordered drug treatment program on Dec. 21 but when transportation fell through, he was released back on the streets.
“Prior to his incarceration on March 9, 2022, Mr. Pagan was in ‘very, very bad shape and probably relapsed,’” his legal team told the BOC.
“Mr. Pagan had a history of drug and alcohol addiction, as well as concerning mental health and medical history, including life-threatening medical conditions requiring regular monitoring and treatment.”
Tarz Youngblood, the first in-custody death of 2022, died on Feb. 27 after the officer on-duty went more than an hour without conducting a tour of the housing area, which is required every 30 minutes.
Youngblood, 38, was unconscious when fellow detainees carried him out of a cell assigned to another person around 10:30 a.m. that morning and brought him downstairs to a common area and laid him on a table. The father of three was brought to Elmhurst Hospital and died about an hour later, the report says.
“Based on footage review, no officer laid eyes on Mr. Youngblood for approximately three hours before his death while he was in a cell, and people in custody were free to wander in and out of cells during that time,” the report says, adding it’s prohibited for an inmate to be inside a cell other than their own.
The DOC didn’t comment on the report but Commissioner Louis Molina vowed during the BOC meeting that things will change as he noted the jail’s issues are long-standing and predate his tenure.
