A harrowing attack unfolded on Wednesday evening at Rikers Island’s North Infirmary Command, where two Emergency Service Unit correction officers were brutally slashed by inmate Sundance Oliver during a routine transfer. Oliver, 30, produced a one-inch ceramic scalpel blade—undetectable by scanners—and launched the unprovoked assault as the officers moved him from main intake. One officer sustained a facial injury requiring six or seven stitches, while the other suffered a deep scalp wound that needed 17 stitches.
Oliver is not new to violence. Union leaders report that since December 2022, he has targeted staff and civilians more than 50 times while housed at Rikers, including over 48 attacks detailed in earlier incidents. His actions have spurred strong calls for enhanced safety measures within the facility. In February, the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association expressed alarm over one such assault, calling for constant lockdown and isolation for such dangerous inmates, though citywide restrictions on solitary confinement have complicated such measures. In a statement, COBA President Benny Boscio said, “Without any provocation, the inmate suddenly began slashing our officers across their heads and faces in what was the most violent assault on our members in years.”
He continued, “This is the same inmate who has now attacked over 50 officers and civilians at Rikers in a span of just two years. These two officers are literally lucky to be alive.”
Officials say Oliver originally began his life of crime in his pre-teen years, affiliating with Brooklyn’s Loop Gang. He was later arrested for a deadly four-day shooting spree in 2022 that killed two people and wounded a 96-year-old bystander, leading to his incarceration on murder charges.
The Department of Corrections condemned the latest attack, urging that Oliver face the “fullest extent of the law,” and calling on policymakers to address how to manage high-risk inmates under reform-minded agendas that include plans to close Rikers Island.
COBA President Boscio also proposed a question to mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, demanding to know what his plan is, if elected. Mamdani, while on the campaign trail, has been a strong advocate for closing Rikers and all prisons. Boscio asked to know what Mamdani plans to do with “violent predators like these who make up nearly 70% of our jail population, as part of his ‘decarceration plan.’”
Boscio concluded, ”These are the extremely dangerous conditions our members face daily and they, just like the inmates in our custody, deserve to be safe.”
