DOI STATEMENT ON CONVICTION OF CITY CORRECTION OFFICER IN COVER UP

  Mark G. Peters, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), issued the following statement on the conviction of City Correction Officer RODINY CALYPSO on a charge of covering up his use of force on an inmate by filing a false report with the City Department of Correction (“DOC”). DOI conducted the investigation in conjunction with its federal law enforcement partners, and testified at the trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. CALYPSO was convicted by a federal jury on Wednesday, August 16, 2017. The use of force against the inmate took place in February 2014 in a shower at Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island. Following the incident, CALYPSO filed a Use of Force report with DOC claiming an inmate spit on him, omitting punches he delivered while holding the inmate in a headlock. A video obtained by DOI disputed the assertions CALYPSO made in his report.

  DOI Commissioner Mark G. Peters said, “This Correction Officer betrayed his oath to protect safety and security in the City’s jails when he used force against an inmate and then covered up his conduct by fabricating a story that the inmate was the aggressor. The jury’s conviction in this case stands as a firm reminder that cover ups and lies by our City’s Correction Officers will not be tolerated.”

  The video of the use of force against the inmate can be seen by this link: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doi/videos/Rikers.mp4

  CALYPSO, 38, of Springfield Gardens, N.Y., is scheduled to be sentenced on November 30, 2017. He began working at DOC on August 2014 and has been suspended since his arrest. He receives an annual base salary of $76,500.

  To date, DOI’s investigations into DOC have resulted in the arrest of 43 Correction Officers and other DOC staff.

  DOI Commissioner Mark G. Peters thanked Joon H. Kim, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and his staff, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, for their partnership on this investigation.