RIVER BREAKOUT DASH AT RIKERS
An accused cop-attacker made a dramatic Rikers Island escape attempt on Thursday that included him going unnoticed for more than 20 minutes while he scaled a rec-yard fence and dashed to the East River, sources said.
Arthur L. Brown, 37, of Brooklyn, made his bold move at 12:17 p.m. while he and other jailbirds got fresh air and exercise atop the George R. Vierno Center, a men’s jail near the island’s eastern tip, sources said.
A surveillance camera recorded Brown — who has been jailed since allegedly attacking two cops more than a year ago — as he scaled a fence in a corner of the yard, sources said.
It was unclear how he made it down from the roof, which is two stories above ground, and the escape wasn’t reported until 12:41 p.m., sources said. A “red alert” was issued at 12:47 p.m., and a search of the island was ordered 10 minutes later, sources said.
Brown was caught by two officers who chased him down with their K-9 partners at around 1:30 p.m., said the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association.
He was caught in the water beyond a perimeter fence but “not fully submerged,” the Bronx District Attorney’s Office said, adding that charges were pending.
The Department of Correction was also investigating the incident, a spokesman said.
Initial, unconfirmed reports said two inmates escaped and one remained on the loose. The NYPD said it was called to search the water at around 1 p.m., but a head count of inmates ordered at 2:15 p.m. revealed no one else was missing, officials said.
A photo released by the union shows the K-9 officers — Larry McCardle and Gregory Braska — after they were apparently treated for minor injuries to their lower legs.
They were taken to Mount Sinai Queens hospital, while Brown — who didn’t appear to have any injuries — was sent to the Rikers infirmary, according to the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association.
Union head Elias Husamudeen hailed McCardle and Braska’s bravery, saying they “immediately jumped into action to bring the inmate back into custody without any regards for their own safety.”
The officers “didn’t have to jump in the water” because there are submerged wires and other countermeasures in place to keep inmates from swimming away, Husamudeen said.
The union has been calling for lower inmate-to-officer ratios amid efforts by City Hall to reduce the prisoner population.
“We probably could use more rec officers because there are two officers assigned and there are more than 13-15 inmates,” Husamudeen said. “Basically, if one of them get a head start, they’re gonna scale that fence.”
Brown has been jailed since May 7, 2019, when he was allegedly caught trespassing at the Staten Island Ferry terminal in lower Manhattan, then allegedly assaulting two NYPD cops.
Two days later, court papers say, he allegedly hurled human waste at a correction officer in an incident that sources said took place in Central Booking at the
Manhattan criminal courthouse.
He was charged again two days later for allegedly punching and trying to choke a court officer at Central Booking, sources said.
Brown’s online booking sheet shows a bail-jumping charge filed against him in Brooklyn in 2019, but the details of that incident were unclear. His rap sheet lists 31 arrests, mostly for petty crimes, sources said.
Thursday’s attempted escape followed the embarrassing revelation on Wednesday that a Rikers inmate spent more than 90 minutes streaming video on Facebook from inside the sprawling jail complex.