Inmate's Sucker Punch Seriously Injures New York City Correction Officer

A man held on Rikers Island sucker-punched a female correction officer in the head from behind without warning Saturday, causing injuries severe enough to require emergency surgery, according to officials and correction sources.

Robert Ray, 34, of Manhattan, was being held without bail for a strikingly similar attack on an MTA station agent at an East Side subway station on Sept. 16, records show.

He was arrested immediately for the unprovoked assault on the officer on attempted murder and related charges at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center about 6:18 p.m., said Annais Morales, a spokeswoman for the Correction Department.

The officer was knocked unconscious and rushed to a local hospital with serious injuries, Morales said.

Two correction sources said separately she suffered bleeding on the brain and needed emergency surgery.

“Our staff perform a heroic public safety function for New Yorkers and any violence against them will be met with the full force of the law. Offenders will be arrested, charged, and the DOC will fully support the prosecution of the attacker,” said Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie.

“Our heart is with our brave officer whose recovery is our first priority. The Department and our entire city is with her.”

A colleague of the injured officer started a fundraising account on her behalf. She was “violently unprovoked and abruptly assaulted by an inmate inside of OBCC, causing serious injuries, placing her in ICU status,” the fellow officer wrote.

The injured officer has two children and does her job “graciously and with utmost integrity.” “I am asking every officer, her colleagues despite what command, she’s your sister in blue,” her colleague wrote.

In a statement, the president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association condemned the violence.

“This heinous attack underscores exactly why we need to be able to separate violent offenders from the general population and why violent offenders must face consecutive sentences for their crimes committed in jail,” said union head Benny Boscio. “We demand justice for our officer and pray for her full recovery.”

Ray’s prior alleged assault on the station agent took place just after 6 a.m. in the E. 53rd St and Lexington Ave. subway station. Prosecutors said he followed her as she walked to a bathroom and to check the escalators. He then ran up behind her and punched her in the face.

She dropped to the ground. Ray ran off and was captured later than day.

The station agent suffered a gash to her face, swelling and pain.

“Ray punched an MTA employee in an unprovoked attack, causing her to fall to the ground,” said District Alvin Attorney Bragg in a statement following the indictment. “Millions of New Yorkers rely on the hard work of our dedicated MTA employees every day, and we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to ensure our transit system is safe.”

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