NEW YORK — Eight employees were injured when a brawl broke out Sunday morning at the Manhattan Detention Complex.
Two employees of the Manhattan Detention Complex were injured following a brawl on Nov. 6, 2016.
According to a Department of Correction official, the incident happened around 8 a.m.
The assistant deputy warden who was punched in the face was treated at the MDC clinic. He then returned to duty.
A captain and six officers were taken to an area hospital where they were treated for pepper spray exposure and minor injuries.
“We have zero tolerance for assaults on the hardworking men and women who serve this city every day," said Department of Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte.
Sources say the inmates also lit a fire. The fire caused officers to investigate the area.
The Correction Officers' Benevolent Association released a statement Sunday night regarding the incident:
"The inmate involved in the assault on the Deputy Warden, Captain and six correction officers, is one of the thousands of mentally ill inmates dumped into our jail system. The question we have is where is the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene? How many more assaults on staff committed by inmates who require mental health treatment have to occur before the DOHMH intervenes and removes the mentally ill and puts them in mental health facilities instead of using Rikers Island and the City's jails to house them?"
A DOC official says the incident was unprovoked and is now under investigation.
