INMATE INDICTED FOR ASSAULTING NYC CORRECTION OFFICER, BREAKING HIS JAW AND CAUSING LIFE-ALTERING INJURY

Officer Will Have Permanent Metal Plate in Jaw

  Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Rikers Island inmate been indicted for Assault on a Peace Officer for punching a New York City Department of Correction Officer, causing extensive injury to his jaw. 

  District Attorney Clark said, “This unprovoked attack has caused long-term physical damage and pain to a Correction Officer who was just doing his job. The defendant faces charges that carry a maximum sentence of 15 years, and if he is convicted we will ask that his sentence be consecutive to any other prison term he faces. We must change the violent trajectory of Rikers Island, and inmates must know they will not get away with brutality against staff.” 

  District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Tariq Hargorve, (AKA Tariq Hargrove), 20, of Brooklyn, NY was arraigned today before Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas. He is due back in court on August 23, 2017. If convicted on the top charge, he could face up to 15 years in prison. 

  Hargorve was indicted on charges of Assault on a Peace Officer, three counts of second degree Assault, third-degree Assault and second-degree Obstructing Governmental Administration. 

  According to the investigation, Hargorve was speaking on an inmate phone in the George Mochan Detention Center on April 11, 2017, and when he hung up, he allegedly punched Correction Officer Richy Herrera Castillo in the face for no apparent reason. Officer Castillo stumbled backwards from the blow and Hargorve left the area, continuing to yell at the officer. The incident was captured on video.

  The officer was hospitalized and underwent extensive surgery. A metal plate was implanted in his jaw, a molar that was knocked loose by the punch had to be removed and his jaw was wired shut. He will require physical therapy and the metal plate is permanent. Officer Castillo suffered considerable pain and difficulty speaking as a result of his injuries.

  District Attorney Clark thanked Department of Correction Investigator Daniel Monaco and the Department of Correction’s Central Intelligence Bureau for their assistance in the case. 

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.