Trial begins for Rikers officers accused of failing to act in inmate’s suicide attempt
Nicholas Feliciano, who was 18 at the time, survived the 2019 incident but suffered severe brain damage, leaving him with permanent impairments.
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The trial of two former Rikers Island correction officers accused of failing to stop an inmate’s suicide attempt is now underway.
Nicholas Feliciano, who was 18 at the time, survived the 2019 incident but suffered severe brain damage, leaving him with permanent impairments.
Madeline Feliciano, Nicholas’ grandmother, spoke out in court Friday, calling for accountability. The officers, Terry Henry and Kenneth Hood, face reckless endangerment charges for allegedly waiting nearly eight minutes before intervening when Nicholas Feliciano tried to hang himself.
“It’s not just the corrections department, the whole city failed Nicholas,” said Madeline Feliciano.
Prosecutors presented testimony from a former investigator who described visiting Nicholas Feliciano in the hospital and documenting the scene at Rikers.
“Since this tragedy, Nicholas will never be the same,” said Madeline Feliciano. “He has mobility, gait and cognitive impairments. He didn’t belong there in the first place. He was just 18, suffering from mental illness, and he needed his medications.”
The defense raised claims that Nicholas Feliciano was involved in a gang-related fight before the incident, but the Feliciano family insists the focus should remain on the officers' alleged failure to act.
“This is really real, and you have to speak up for your loved ones,” said Madeline Feliciano. “Mental illness is serious, and when someone says they’re going to take their life, take it very seriously.”
The trial will resume Monday. Jurors have been reminded not to research the case or discuss it online.
For more details on the video and The New York Times full project, read: New York City Set to Pay a Record $28 Million to SettleRikers Island Suit - The New York Times.
