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A Rikers Island correction officer was beaten up by a pair of Bloods gang members Friday night — when one of the inmates swiped the guard’s keys and freed his pal, The Post has learned.
The attack happened Friday just after 7 p.m. when the correction officer was removing garbage from one of the gang member’s cells, according to internal records obtained by The Post.
The inmate slugged the CO in the face — then snatched his keys and opened the cell next door, releasing another Bloods inmate, the documents say.
The two gang members kicked and dragged the CO to the floor before a chemical agent was sprayed, breaking up the fracas.
The injured officer, who has five years on the job, suffered facial injuries. He was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital, records show.
Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association President Benny Boscio blamed the attack on city Department of Correction Commissioner Vincent Schiraldi’s “failure to deliver the 600 Correction Officers who he pledged to hire by the end of this month.”
“After not hiring Correction Officers for nearly three years, the Department hired a mere 64 officers several weeks ago and only 39 officers last week,” Boscio said in a statement.
Boscio pointed out that the department has lost 500 officers since January as a result of resignations and retirements.
“Our staffing crisis is a result of the Department’s failure to ensure there are optimal staffing levels to provide the highest levels of security,” the statement said. “Does the Commissioner think these officers are faking their injuries so they don’t have to come to work? Does he expect them to provide him with a doctor’s note within 24 hours?”
At a City Council hearing last month, it was revealed that about 2,000 of the 8,300 workers — about one in five — called out sick in one day. At the same time, officers were complaining about working grueling 16- and 24-hour shifts.
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