I’M NO DUMMY
Jail inmate cut – goons pose as ‘mannequins’
A RIKERS Island inmate slashed in the face while riding a jail bus said he was the victim of a sadistic version of the “mannequin challenge,” documents obtained by the Daily News show.
The attack on inmate Angel Gonzalez, an alleged member of the Sex Money Murder gang, occurred Friday around 5:40 p.m., according to records. He was aboard a bus bound for the Anna M. Kross Center following a court appearance in the Bronx, a jail source said.
“As he stepped into the aisle, he felt a swiping motion across his face. He looked behind him and observed all inmates sitting as if part of the mannequin challenge,” Deputy Warden David Dueno wrote in an email obtained by The News.
Correction officers on the bus did not observe the attack and reported the bus was quiet. No weapon was found.
A photo of Gonzalez’s injury showed a nasty slice down the 33-year-old’s right cheek. Records indicate he is currently being held on a felony conspiracy charge at the Brooklyn Detention Complex.
A jail official said the incident is under review.
The mannequin challenge is a social media meme in which people remain frozen like dummies while being filmed.
Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte has touted a decline in violence in the city’s jail system, but staff have been unable to reduce slashing and stabbings.
There were 154 slashings and stabbings in 2016, compared with 131 the previous year, an 18% increase. Correction officials note that slashings and stabbings only represent 1% of violent incidents at city jails.
Jail officials have griped about state lawmakers preventing them from implementing the use of sophisticated body scanners to detect hidden blades. The department has already purchased several of those scanners, but they remain mothballed due to current state law.