Rikers inmate slashes officer

A CITY correction officer was slashed in the face by an inmate who reached through the food slot of his cell Wednesday morning, video obtained by the Daily News shows.

The officer was attacked by inmate Jimmy Lugo in the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island at 11:17 a.m., according to records.

Before the slashing, the unnamed officer talks to Lungo briefly in front of his cell before the detainee reaches out and cuts his left check, the video shows (photo inset).

The attack is the latest in a series of assaults behind bars as Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte struggles to stem a spike in violence.

There have been at least three other attacks on officers over the past two weeks, records show.

“I am outraged by this serious assault,” Ponte said. “Attacks against the hardworking men and women who serve in our department will not be tolerated.”

The Correction Department is trying to gain approval from state lawmakers to use high-tech body scanners, he added.

Lugo was immediately arrested in the new case and faces additional charges, Ponte said.

The jail officers union has repeatedly blamed department brass.

“These inmates are emboldened because they simply do not fear the consequences,” said Elias Husamudeen, president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association.

“Officers are being cut, stabbed, punched, kicked and sexually assaulted, and in far too many instances, inmates are getting away with their crimes behind bars,” he added.