Defendants Allegedly Filed False Reports to Cover Up Misconduct
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced that two New York City Department of Correction Officers were indicted on charges of Falsifying Business Records and Official Misconduct for allegedly filing false reports to cover up their alleged improper use of pepper spray on inmates.
District Attorney Clark said, “These defendants are accused of using pepper spray on inmates in violation of Department guidelines. To cover up these alleged violations, the officers allegedly filed reports found to be inconsistent with the facts.”
Department of Investigation Commissioner Nadia Shihata said, “These correction officers betrayed their positions of trust as law enforcement officers not only by misusing pepper spray on persons in custody but also by falsifying official Department of Correction reports to cover up their misconduct, as charged in the indictment. When City employees, particularly law enforcement officers, choose to engage in misconduct, they compromise the City’s and their agency’s mission: to serve and protect all New Yorkers. I thank the DOC for referring this matter to DOI and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for its continued partnership with DOI to hold accountable those who undermine the City’s integrity.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendants, Adrian Houlder, 32, and Tarik Hawkins, 33, were today arraigned on two counts of first-degree Falsifying Business Records, two counts of second-degree Falsifying Business Records and four counts of Official Misconduct, before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Pamela Goldsmith. They are due back in court July 1, 2026.
According to the investigation, between June 15, 2024, and October 21, 2024, the officers were assigned to the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island and allegedly used OC spray, also known as pepper spray, on inmates. A review of video surveillance revealed that they used the spray without proper cause or provocation under DOC guidelines. The defendants then allegedly falsified DOC reports about their actions. In one report the defendants stated that an inmate had tried to headbutt them. A review of surveillance video found that the inmate did not try to headbutt the defendants.
District Attorney Clark thanked Department of Investigation Confidential Investigator Andrea St. Lot-Romeo and Department of Investigation Correction Officer Investigator Christine Salvatore who worked on the investigation under the supervision of Deputy Inspector General Alexandra Caruana and Inspector General Marissa Carro.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
No comments:
Post a Comment