Friday 13 May 2022 11:31 PM NYC Corrections officer commits suicide by jumping of Verrazano Bridge during ... trends now
A corrections officer at Rikers Island died after jumping off the Verrazano Bridge on Friday, in an incident that has renewed concerns about the staffing and safety crisis at the notorious New York prison.
Edward Roman, 38, jumped from the Staten Island side of the 700-foot-tall suspension bridge just after 6:30am, police confirmed on Friday afternoon.
The Staten Island Advance reported that the officer had survived the initial fall and was alive when first responders pulled him from the water, but later died after being taken to Staten Island University Hospital.
Roman, a resident of Long Island, had been employed by the Department of Corrections (DOC) for more than a decade, where he was assigned to the North Infirmary Command, a jail at the notorious New York prison.
'Edward Roman served this city and this department honorably as correction officer for 10 years,' DOC Commissioner Louis Molina said Friday following news of the officer's death.
'Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and loved ones. We had been praying for his recovery, and now this tragic loss will be felt across the agency.'
Edward Roman, 38, jumped to his death on the Staten Island side of the suspension bridge just after 6:30 am, cops said Friday afternoon
New York Police Department divers were subsequently deployed into the bay, where they pulled the from the water, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
The incident saw two lanes on the bridge's Brooklyn-bound portion shut down for more than an hour, with one Staten-Island-bound lane also blocked for a time, sources said.
All lanes were reopened at about 8:08 am.
Benny Boscio, the president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, blamed the suicide on the worsening conditions being experienced at Rikers,
