The NYC Department of Correction (DOC) announced on Friday, July 24, that a 29-year-old man who was detained at Rikers Island has died.

 

A DOC spokesperson said that following Julian Pagan’s arraignment at a Bronx court, he was found unresponsive in a holding cell, shortly before 6 p.m. [on Friday]. The spokesperson said medical aid was provided and Pagan, 29, was transported to Lincoln Hospital where he was pronounced deceased at 6:37 p.m.

 

The spokesperson went on to say that the department has notified the remediation manager, federal monitor, the board of correction, the State attorney general’s office, NYC Department of Investigation (DOI), NYS Commission of Correction, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Bronx District Attorney, and the victim’s attorney.

 

NYC Correction Commissioner Stanley Richards said, “We are deeply saddened by this tragedy, and we share our condolences with Mr. Pagan’s loved ones. We will investigate the circumstances of this death in coordination with city and state authorities.”

 

In response, Darren Mack, Freedom Agenda co-director, released a statement, saying in part, “There can be no excuses for this anymore. Mayor Mamdani ran on a plan to emphasize community safety over the failed law and order policies of the Adams administration. How does a young man dying in a cell in a courthouse make our communities safer?”

 

The statement continued, “Everyone involved in this tragedy needs to be reflecting on this question, from the guards ignoring the people in their custody, to the judge who chose to set bail and send this young man to Rikers, to the NYPD who are flooding our court system with arrests on low level charges. We demand an end to deaths in custody, to the needless detention of our neighbors, and to broken windows policing by any name.”

 

Norwood News reached out to the mayor’s office, the NYPD, the Bronx District Attorney’s office, and the NY court system for comment. The NYPD had none. A spokesperson for the Bronx district attorney’s office said that Pagan’s death is, by statute, being investigated by the Office of the New York State Attorney General. The Bronx District Attorney’s Office had no comment.

 

The mayor had earlier said the following in relation to the death of Pagan, “I am deeply saddened to learn of a New Yorker’s death in City custody following a court appearance in the Bronx. My heart is with his loved ones, who are facing this unimaginable loss.”

 

He added, “The Department of Correction and its oversight partners will investigate the circumstances of this death. Every person in City custody deserves to be treated with dignity and care, and our administration remains committed to ensuring that happens.”

 

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