NYC CORRECTION OFFICER CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING AN INMATE ON RIKERS ISLAND AND TRYING TO COVER UP THE ALLEGED ‘BEATDOWN’
Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a 35-year-old New York City Correction Officer has been arrested and charged with allegedly assaulting an inmate and trying to cover up the incident.
An indictment unsealed today charges Daniel DiPierri with four counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, one count of Offering A False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, three counts of Official Misconduct, and one count of Assault in the Third Degree. The most serious charges, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, are Class E felony offenses punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 7 years imprisonment if convicted. The remaining counts in the indictment are misdemeanor offenses punishable by a maximum sentence of up to one year in jail.
The charges in this indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
DiPierri was arraigned before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett who released the defendant in his own recognizance.
It is alleged that DiPierri, who was a probationary Captain when the incident occurred on January 7, 2012, assaulted inmate Carl Roberts at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island when Roberts refused to comply with an order to return to a housing area at the facility. Roberts was then pushed, punched repeatedly, kicked, and sprayed with a noxious chemical. DiPierri allegedly wrote and filed a false use of force report in which it claimed that Roberts was being aggressive. DiPierri has also been charged with ordering a subordinate to make false claims on a “use of force witness report” backing up DiPierri’s claim that Roberts had been the aggressor.
The New York City Department of Correction subsequently demoted Dipierri to the rank of Correction Officer.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Ann Lee under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Lawrence Piergrossi of the Rackets Bureau.
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