Correx dept. tragedy
Rikers officer plunges to his death from Verrazzano Bridge
A city correction officer died early Friday after jumping from the Verrazzano Bridge — and a union linked the suicide to stress facing the rank and file.
Edward Roman, 38, parked his car near the Staten Island-side of the bridge and jumped just after 6:30 a.m. Witnesses called 911 and NYPD divers removed him from the water.
He died at the scene.
Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, lamented the brutal working conditions at Rikers Island and other city jails.
“Correction Officer Roman was well liked and respected by his fellow officers. He had his whole life and career ahead of him,” Boscio said. “This tragedy is also a solemn reminder of the enormous stress correction officers face on a daily basis.
“The worsening conditions in our jails doesn’t just affect the inmates. Our officers go to work every day not knowing if they will return home the same way they left. They go to work every day not knowing if they will miss time with their loved ones because they are forced to work a double or triple shift.”
Rikers has been mired in chaos for years, with correction officers calling in sick in droves.
The staffing crisis results in numerous unstaffed posts and extra work for correction officers who actually show up. Inmates, meanwhile, lack basic services and medical treatment.
Boscio called on Mayor Adams’ new panel examining Rikers to focus on workplace stress. The mayor signed an executive order Thursday creating a commission to seek a solution to the staffing issues and chaotic conditions in the city jails, naming his top lawyer Brendan McGuire and
Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks to run it.
Roman, who lived on Long Island, joined the Department of Correction on Dec. 22, 2011, and was assigned to the North Infirmary Command on Rikers.
“Edward Roman served this city and this department honorably as correction officer for 10 years,” DOC Commissioner Louis Molina said. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and loved ones. We had been praying for his recovery, and now this tragic loss will be felt across the agency.”
For individual officers, the death struck hard. “We can never do anything right, we’re always working and never see our kids,” said one correction officer. “At least in the NYPD, you can get fresh air and go to Starbucks.”
The DOC opened a wellness center for civilian and uniformed staff in 2018, with then-Commissioner Cynthia Brann describing it as a “place of respite.”
The Correction Department said it was also offering counseling to staff.