NEW YORK — An incarcerated person in custody at the Eric M. Taylor Center on Rikers Island died Tuesday evening, marking the second death at the jail complex in less than 24 hours, according to the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice.
Umais Khan, 40, who had been accused of package theft, allegedly “pilfered packages from a SoHo [Manhattan neighborhood] building earlier this month,” according to the New York Post.
Khan had been arrested May 5 and was “awaiting trial on felony robbery and narcotics charges, according to court records,” THE CITY reported.
THE CITY reported that staff members, according to the Department of Correction, were alerted at 10:54 a.m. that Khan was unresponsive in his bed. “Correction staff performed CPR until medical personnel arrived, but he could not be revived and was pronounced dead at 11:21 a.m.”
New York City Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards said, “I am absolutely devastated that we have lost someone in our care, and this tragedy is felt by every member of service. On behalf of myself and the Department, I share my deepest condolences with his loved ones. This incident will be investigated,” in response to Khan’s death.
Kevin Valentine, a member of the Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice, commented, “[I]s it horrifying that in less than 24-hours, a second person has passed away at Rikers Island. I send my deepest condolences to those who cared about Mr. Khan.”
One day earlier, another incarcerated person, Rajpattie Ramkellawan, 41, was in custody at the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers when she suffered what the DOC described as a “medical emergency.”
Ramkellawan had been arrested for multiple burglaries and petit larceny charges, including package theft, according to the New York Post.
While medical assistance was provided, as it was for Khan, Ramkellawan died at 11:15 a.m., according to officials, less than 24 hours before Khan’s death.
“The specific causes of both deaths remain under investigation,” the New York Post reported.
The deaths were the third and fourth deaths of incarcerated people at Rikers Island so far this year.
Barry Cozart, 39, was incarcerated at the George R. Vierno Center and had “been held at Rikers since his arrest in November on charges including burglary, criminal trespass and petit larceny, according to court records,” the Gothamist reported.
Staff members were called to provide medical assistance and performed CPR after “a correction officer found Cozart in need of medical aid that morning,” the Gothamist explained. “He could not be revived and was pronounced dead at 11:33 a.m.” on March 25.
Cozart marked the first death in the recent string of deaths at Rikers Island.
John Price, 49, had been indicted on drug trafficking charges in late 2024. He was awaiting his next court appearance in April when he died.
On March 29, a Saturday evening, “Price was transferred to Elmhurst Hospital in Queens at 5:40 p.m.” after DOC officials determined he needed medical attention, the Gothamist reported. “He was pronounced dead at the hospital roughly 12 hours later.”
Price was the second incarcerated person to die at Rikers, less than a week after Cozart’s death.
Advocacy groups have criticized the proposal to increase the Department of Correction’s budget by 5%, as well as the lack of a clear timeline to close Rikers Island.
“With a new Mayoral administration,” the Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice stated, “there have been no changes in the culture at Rikers, and there won’t be until it is closed.”
Yonah Zeitz, advocacy director for the Katal Center for Equity, Health and Justice, said, “to prevent more deaths, Rikers must be shut down.”
Zohran Mamdani responded on social media to the deaths at Rikers Island, stating that “while we do not yet know the cause of death, too many have died on Rikers Island for far too long.”
Like the advocacy groups, Mayor Mamdani said, “Rikers must close, and we will pursue every avenue to do so as quickly as possible.”
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