Rikers corrections officers accused of misusing pepper spray on inmates, falsifying reports in cover-up attempt
Adrian Houlder, 32, and Tarik Hawkins, 33, were assigned to the Otis Bantum Correctional Center when the incidents took place, between June 15, 2024, and Oct. 21, 2024.
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Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark says two New York City Department of Correction Officers were indicted Wednesday for allegedly misusing pepper spray on inmates and attempting to cover up their actions by filing false DOC reports.
Adrian Houlder, 32, and Tarik Hawkins, 33, were assigned to the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island when the incidents took place, between June 15, 2024, and Oct. 21, 2024.
Prosecutors say surveillance video of the incidents revealed that the officers… “used the spray without proper cause or provocation under DOC guidelines.”
One alleged false report claimed an inmate attempted to headbutt the officers, but prosecutors say the inmate was not seen doing so in the surveillance footage.
"These correction officers betrayed their positions of trust as law enforcement officers not only by misusing pepper spray on persons in custody but also by falsifying official Department of Correction reports to cover up their misconduct, as charged in the indictment,” said Department of Investigation Commissioner Nadia Shihata. “When City employees, particularly law enforcement officers, choose to engage in misconduct, they compromise the City's and their agency's mission: to serve and protect all New Yorkers. I thank the DOC for referring this matter to DOI and the Bronx District Attorney's Office for its continued partnership with DOI to hold accountable those who undermine the City's integrity."
Houlder and Hawkins are charged with multiple counts of falsifying business records and official misconduct.
They are due back in court on July 1.
