The family of a Rikers Island inmate who suffered a fatal medical episode while allegedly left unsupervised by an overworked guard blames the city for his death.
Robert Jackson, 42, was locked up ahead of trial for a burglary charge in 2021 — when his assigned guard walked off the job, according to court papers and the corrections union. The guard, identified only as John Doe 1, had worked for 20 hours straight before requesting relief, which never came, a new lawsuit claims.
“While the officer’s post was vacant, Robert suffered a medical event. Left helpless and denied care until it was too late, he died,” says the Manhattan federal court complaint filed last week.
The city medical examiner ruled Jackson’s June 30 death “natural” — caused by “hypertensive and atherosclerotic heart disease.”
Jackson was discovered unconscious in his cell 15 hours after the exhausted guard abandoned his post, the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association told The Post at the time. And even once he was found, there was a negligent and “substantial delay” in medical attention, the suit argues.
He died the night before officials threw back-to-back bashes for two retiring bosses.
The lawsuit, which seeks $60 million in damages, names the city, the Health & Hospitals Corp., and four unnamed Department of Corrections workers.
Joshua Kelner, an attorney representing Jackson’s family, said the inmate’s death was a sign of a “deeply broken system.”
The city Law Department didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Susan Edelman