Killer’s gall
Ruthless gunman slashed in jail, sues city
A CONVICTED cop killer slashed in the face during a jailhouse brawl is suing the city Correction Department for not protecting him.
Demetrius Blackwell — described as a “cold, calculating killer” when he was sentenced to life for the 2015 murder of NYPD Officer Brian Moore — was cut by two inmates at the Brooklyn Detention Complex on April 14, 2017, according to department records.
In a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court May 17, Blackwell, 37, says he was attacked “without provocation and justification” and insists he “was not the aggressor,” asserting he was injured due to the “carelessness, recklessness and gross negligence” of jail staff.
In the brawl — captured on surveillance video — a correction officer ordered a group of inmates to stop fighting, and used pepper spray to break it up.
When the inmates were pulled apart, the officer found Blackwell had a nearly 5-inchlong and deep cut on the right side of his face, records show.
According to an initial account from officers at the scene, inmates Kai Watkins, 39, and Layquan Johnson, 34, were the two perpetrators.
Watkins is serving a minimum of 16 years on a robbery conviction. Johnson’s earliest release date is February 2020 for an assault and attempted robbery conviction.
In December, Blackwell was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for shooting Moore in face with a silver .38-caliber revolver on May 2, 2015.
“You’re a cold, calculating killer,” Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory Lasak said at the time.
Moore, a five-year veteran, had been patrolling in an unmarked police car at 212th St. and 104th Road when he was gunned down.
Moore and his partner wanted to question Blackwell after they saw him adjusting his pants to hide a suspected gun.
A Correction Department spokesman declined to comment on the slashing lawsuit.