Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Elijah Muhammad

September 19, 2024

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James' Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Elijah Muhammad, who died on July 10, 2022 while incarcerated in the George R. Vierno Center (GRVC) on Rikers Island. Following a comprehensive investigation, including review of Department of Correction (DOC) staff incident reports and security camera footage, witness interviews, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the correction officer staffed on Mr. Muhammad's unit committed a crime, and therefore criminal charges would not be pursued.

At 3:00 p.m. on July 10, 2022, the correction officer staffed on Mr. Muhammad's unit witnessed Mr. Muhammad in a severely disoriented state. Mr. Muhammad appeared to have difficulty keeping his eyes open and standing upright, at one point slumping to the floor in a seated position. After being alerted by other incarcerated people in the housing unit, the correction officer held open Mr. Muhammad's cell door while two incarcerated people helped him into his cell. However, in violation of DOC rules, the correction officer failed to call a medical emergency. He also failed to take any other action to assist Mr. Muhammad, such as administering Narcan.

The correction officer continued to check on Mr. Muhammad periodically for two hours, until 5:13 p.m., sometimes stepping into Mr. Muhammad's cell. The correction officer then did not check on Mr. Muhammad until 9:43 p.m.

Other people housed in Mr. Muhammad's unit continued to check on him throughout the evening. Beginning around 8:00 p.m., the incarcerated people who came to Mr. Muhammad's door appeared to grow increasingly alarmed by what they saw through his cell window and began knocking on and kicking at his door. At 9:43 p.m., the correction officer went into Mr. Muhammad's cell, where he found Mr. Muhammad unconscious, cold, and foaming at the nose. The officer recruited another correction officer to help, and together they moved Mr. Muhammad out of his cell and onto the ground to begin rendering aid. The correction officers called for medical staff, who then called for emergency medical services. Mr. Muhammad was declared dead in the housing unit at 10:30 p.m. The medical examiner found that the concentration of Fentanyl in Mr. Muhammad's blood was a fatal dose.

Following a preliminary assessment of the incident, OSI determined that the failure of the correction officer to call a medical emergency or provide immediate aid to Mr. Muhammad qualified as an omission, or failure to perform a duty imposed by law, which contributed to Mr. Muhammad's death. Therefore, OSI conducted this investigation pursuant to Executive Law Section 70-b.

Under New York law, proving criminally negligent homicide as an omission would require proving beyond a reasonable doubt, among other things, that the correction officer caused Mr. Muhammad's death. In this case, the medical examiner determined that while providing Narcan when Mr. Muhammad was first observed in a disoriented state, or in the ensuing hours when the officer failed to check on Mr. Muhammad, might have increased his chance of survival, there is no guarantee that it would have saved his life. OSI concluded that although the correction officer's failure to call a medical emergency or render aid contributed to his death, a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this failure caused Mr. Muhammad's death.