The city has agreed to pay $28.7 million to the family of a Rikers Island inmate who suffered severe brain damage after attempting suicide while prison guards watched, according to court records.
The incident left Nicholas Feliciano in need of lifelong care, led to criminal charges against four security guards, and his family filed suit against the city, the Public Health and Hospital Corporation, and others.
Although a judge still needs to sign the agreement, the settlement ranks among the largest ever paid by a city to an individual in a civil rights case, according to The New York Times, which first reported on the deal. It is said that it will be done.
Feliciano was 18 years old when he was booked into Rikers in November 2019 on suspicion of violating his parole. Go to the report from the city corrections commission And lawsuits.
The Queens man had a record of metal illnesses and suicide attempts, and his family argued in Manhattan federal court that he attempted to hang himself in his cell nine days after being sent to prison.
The family alleges in court documents that they watched Feliciano for seven minutes, hanging from his clothes from a hook in the ceiling, but did nothing.
Feliciano was eventually rescued by a prison warden who saw what happened on a surveillance camera and went to cut him from the makeshift rope, according to legal documents.
Feliciano, now 22, requires constant care, has “limited vocal functions” and is unable to be independent or feed himself, his family said in the lawsuit, which originally sought unspecified damages. .
He also has short-term memory loss and remembers little before his suicide attempt, his grandmother Madeline Feliciano told the Times, and the proposed settlement would cover Feliciano’s lifelong care costs. He added that it would help.
Madeline, 57, said: “We can’t bring Nicholas back to the way he was.”
“He will have to live with this injury for the rest of his life.”
Two of the guards pleaded guilty to official misconduct last year, while the remaining guards still have criminal cases pending.
“Resolving this tragic case was in the best interest of all parties involved,” a Department of Justice spokesperson told the Post.
“DOC is committed to ensuring the safety of all Rikers, including those who suffer from severe mental illness.”
David B. Rankin, the family’s attorney, told the Times that Feliciano was attacked twice while at Rikers and should not have been in a general prison because of his mental health issues.
Rankin could not be reached for comment.
