Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—December 18, 2014. Attorney General Eric Holder, Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York announced today that the United States has taken legal action to ensure that critically important reforms are put in place to address conduct at Rikers Island that has violated the constitutional rights of New York City’s youngest inmates, who are between the ages of 16 and 18 (“young inmates”). Specifically, the Department of Justice has filed a motion seeking the court’s permission to join and become a plaintiff in a pending class action lawsuit against New York City, Nunez v. City of New York (the “Nunez Action”), which alleges that the Department of Correction (“DOC”) has engaged in a pattern and practice of using unnecessary and excessive force against inmates. The department has taken this legal step as part of its ongoing effort to ensure that DOC implements all needed institutional reforms promptly, and that these reforms are lasting, verifiable and enforceable through the judicial process.
