Rikers inmate charged with attempted murder for brutal attack on correction officer

An inmate itching to get out of Rikers Island was charged with attempted murder after launching a brutal attack on a correction officer Wednesday morning, knocking him out cold and kicking him repeatedly in the head, according to authorities.

Rashidi Smith, 41, who was already behind bars on an assault case, is expected to be arraigned Thursday morning for the crime.

“This brutal and unprovoked assault could have killed this officer simply for doing his job. This thug should be immediately charged with attempted murder and the District Attorney should prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law,” said Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association President Benny Boscio.

The assault began at 1:20 a.m. when Smith told an officer in the Otis Bantum Correctional Center that he was due to be released that day and asked the CO to call the main office, according to the union.

The officer told Smith that the main office was closed and he would call later when it opened, the group added.

Unsatisfied with that answer, Smith unleashed a barrage of punches, hitting the officer about five times in the face, according to the union.

The inmate then slammed the officer’s head into a chair, knocking him out cold.

With the CO prone on the floor unconscious and defenseless, Smith punched the officer half a dozen more times then kicked him in the head, according to a video described by COBA.

Other officers stationed nearby saw the attack and were able to ward off the inmate with chemical spray.

The knocked-out officer was hospitalized with head and neck injuries, authorities said.

The union released a photo of the officer with a neck brace and a breathing tube in a hospital bed.

“Any act of violence towards our officers will be met with swift consequences,” said Department of Correction Commissioner Louis Molina. “The entire DOC team is praying for the officer’s full recovery, and I want to commend the second officer who intervened and stopped the attack.”

The assault came the same day that City Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, who chairs the Committee on Criminal Justice, called the staffing levels in city jails “bloated” and urged “rightsizing” the number of correction officers. She cited the chronic sick leave abuse and the one to one officer to inmate ratio which is above the national average of one to 3.6.

Boscio blamed Rivera for the attack and called for her resignation.

“These unprovoked attacks are all too common because of the willful indifference of our policymakers like Council Member Carlina Rivera, who as Chair of the City Council Criminal Justice Committee, has done everything possible to protect assaultive inmates in our custody,” he said. “At the time of this incident, there were two officers assigned to this area that housed approximately 50 inmates. Council Member Rivera needs to explain to New Yorkers how having less officers is going to make our jails safer. She should resign immediately.”

Rivera, however, was unrepentant in her call to thin the DOC staff.

“The entrenched culture of violence and dysfunction and lack of accountability on Rikers Island undermines public safety and subjects staff and detained individuals to constant violence,” she said in response.

“I’ve called on the administration to ensure that the next phase of union contract negotiations prioritize safety and efficiency, and does not permit the continued pattern of giving special privileges to members that allow them to avoid working with incarcerated people.”