NEW YORK — A detainee who used a shoestring to hang himself Thursday in a Manhattan criminal court holding cell has died, Correction Department officials said.
Anthony Scott, 58, was found unresponsive about 4:45 p.m. in an admission cell at Central Booking after he was arrested for assaulting a nurse at New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia. He was about to be transported to Rikers Island.
He died Tuesday in intensive care at New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital.
A source said as many as four correction officers were nearby when Scott tied the shoestring to a partition at about 4:25 p.m. DOC officials said the incident is under investigation.
The suicide attempt came as 13 detainees have died in city custody so far this year, a grim sign of crisis conditions at Rikers Island and other lockups. Scott was not technically in city custody when he died, having been released by the court while he was in intensive care.
Scott was arrested about 4 a.m. on Wednesday, after a nurse at Columbia-Presbyterian told police he punched her in the face, court records show. He was charged with assault.
Prosecutors asked for cash bail of $30,000, citing Scott’s lengthy arrest record, including two prior violent felony convictions.
Judge Nestor Diaz set bail at $15,000 cash, $45,000 bond, records show.
Scott reached the holding area at Manhattan criminal court about 1 p.m. Thursday. Less than four hours later he jammed a lock to his cell and hanged himself, records show.
Firefighters arrived roughly a half-hour later and helped correction staff open the door.
Scott had 136 prior arrests and had just been in Manhattan Central Booking three days earlier on a previous bust.
Scott also served three prior stints in state prison. He was released on parole in March 2020 after serving just over five years for a burglary and drug possession conviction. He was to stay on parole until March 2025.
He also did three years in prison for attempted burglary in Manhattan from 2011 to 2014. He also did five years in state prison stemming from a 2001 robbery conviction. He was released in September 2006.
“Throughout his life, Mr. Scott was continually criminalized for his struggle with mental illness, and our criminal legal system has never had the comprehensive tools necessary to serve New Yorkers with acute needs like Mr. Scott,” said Tina Luongo, Attorney-In-Charge of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society.
“We call on our leaders in government to prioritize both policy and funding to support robust programming to prevent further suffering and loss of life.”
At least six detainees have died following suicide attempts while in custody since November.
Scott’s death came only four days after Victor Mercado, 64, died after testing positive for COVID-19 while at Rikers on weapons and drugs charges.
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