Two NYC Correction officers attacked in 4 hours at Rikers — one by menace accused of brutal subway assault: union

A pair of correction officers came under assault in a brutal, four‑hour window at Rikers Island on Wednesday, with one guard being slashed by a notorious subway knifer, union officials said.

The 11‑year veteran was nicked at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center around 9:30 a.m. when Shemar Shaw, 24 and known as a Crips gang member, attacked him shortly after the officer complained about a misplaced tablet. “He ran up behind me and I felt like he grabbed me from the back of my head and did, like a swipe motion across my face,” the officer—who asked to stay anonymous—recounted. The wound was caused by a sharpened piece of metal, and the officer compared the sting to sandpaper sliding over his face. Shaw is being held at Rikers for stabbing and punching a 29‑year‑old man in February after the victim had bumped him on a subway train near Rockefeller Center, according to police and prosecutors.

“That person knows that if I attack an officer here it won’t stick with him in the normal world,” the injury‑ridden officer reflected on Shaw’s earlier arrest. He was hospitalized following the attack and expressed relief that the knife wasn’t even sharper than it already was.

Just a few hours later, while the facility remained on lockdown from the first assault, Bloods inmate Malik Cooke allegedly tossed a burning rag at the replacement officer, according to the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association (COBA). About 2:50 p.m., Cooke allegedly unlocked his cell, set a cloth alight, and hurled it at a 48‑year‑old female officer. She suffered smoke inhalation but no serious burns, COBA said. Cooke was being held on a second‑degree burglary charge and had previously violated a protection order in East Harlem.

The first attacked officer said this was the fourth time an inmate had assaulted him, but the first time he was slashed. “I’m definitely afraid,” he said. “Because even though it happened to me today, anyone could face this—it’s happened to others in the past, and it makes me feel the danger even more.” He urged lawmakers to introduce new protections to keep correction officers safe and curb the escalating violence that has emboldened inmates.

“I want this job to be safer. I hope legislation comes through so I can return to work feeling secure, taking a breath when I actually go to shift,” he added. “Right now I have that anxiety every time I step in, uncertain of what might happen.”

COBA President Benny Boscio issued a forceful statement condemning the surge of violence. “These unprovoked attacks by violent gang members on our correction officers, who were simply doing their jobs, are not isolated incidents,” Boscio said. “There have now been nearly 600 correction officers assaulted this past year.” The city’s Department of Correction did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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