Statement from COBA President Elias Husamudeen Below:
“As soon as we suffered the first death in our membership from COVID-19, which was the tragic passing of Correction Officer Quinsey Simpson, we immediately reached out to our friends in the NYC Council, like Council Member Joseph Borelli, and lobbied to ensure Correction Officers would be entitled to Line of Duty Death Benefits related to COVID-19.
Council Member Borelli spearheaded our fight to include Correction Officers and other essential frontline workers in any Line of Duty Benefits related to COVID-19. Today, Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that all city employees, including our members, will be entitled to a three quarters Line of Duty Disability Pension. I thank COBA Legislative Chairman Freddy Fusco for working vigorously with Council Member Borelli and other elected officials to help make this happen. I also want to thank Council Member Borelli for his tireless advocacy for New York City Correction Officers and their families.”
Elias Husamudeen
COBA President
Archive News
The city will provide free coronavirus testing for corrections officers following a weekslong legal battle for supplies and policies to protect guards from infection.
Ten Rikers Island correction officers refused to return to their posts early Wednesday morning after working 24-hour shifts at a jail with nearly 200 inmates who have coronavirus, while two others with confirmed cases were told to return to work, the Daily News has learned.
Six correction officers and one captain have died from coronavirus in the last three weeks — and uniformed staffers say they’re frightened more from their ranks will continue to succumb to COVID-19.
