The female Department of Correction officer slugged by a man held on Rikers Island for also sucker-punching an MTA station agent suffered a fractured eye socket and remains in the hospital, but is on the mend, her sisters said Wednesday.
The officer, Shamika Mitchell, was initially thought to need emergency surgery after she was allegedly attacked by Robert Ray on Saturday evening at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center. But her condition has improved significantly.
“She’s good. She’s in good spirits. She’s God-fearing, she has a whole team from corrections with her,” said Robin Mitchell, 37, who drove from Virginia to check on her sister and attend Ray’s arraignment at Bronx Criminal Court.
The suspect, age 34, tottered out from a rear holding area in an orange DOC jumpsuit that was a size or two too large for his reed-thin frame. He said nothing during the hearing, but he was also not asked any questions.
Ray was initially charged with attempted murder. In the criminal complaint, prosecutors revised the charges to aggravated assault on a police or peace officer, assault and attempted assault, the complaint said.
The hearing, held in a second-floor courtroom at 215 E. 161st St., lasted barely a minute and a half. Ray’s attorney, Andrew Bottari, waived reading of the charges and did not ask the judge to change the terms of Ray’s detention. No plea was entered. The case returns to court Feb. 26.
Ray was already remanded for the Sept. 16 assault on the MTA station agent, also a woman, plus for a parole violation.
Bottari did not reply to a phone message.
Assistant District Attorney Georgia Barker said she intended to bring the case before a Bronx grand jury on Thursday.
In the gallery, roughly 50 correction officers both in uniform and civilian clothes looked on. They remained silent during the brief hearing, then filed out to gather in a semicircle as Mitchell’s sisters thanked them for their support.
“Unfortunately, this is what it is. But I understand that y’all have a relationship with my sister and this right here is absolutely amazing,” said Danielle Mitchell, 38, of Brooklyn. “Despite whether you knew her or not, you still came out.”
Added Robin Mitchell, “I drove all the way down here to make sure she was taken care of and I was, like, ‘Oh, I didn’t even have to come.’ I didn’t know correction was so close.”
The attack comes as the future of New York City’s jail system is being hashed out in the wood-paneled confines of the Federal Courthouse at 500 Pearl St. The Nunez class-action case inches ever closer to the appointment of a receiver to wrest management of the jails from the city. Meanwhile, the Correction Department faced criticism on Tuesday from the Board of Correction for quietly creating a new Rikers Island high-security unit without critical services already in place.
Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association took the moment to underscore his view that his members aren’t being protected.
“A crime in the jails is no different from what happens on the street, so why are crimes in jail treated differently?” he said. “If we don’t have any viable deterrence anymore, then why would anyone change their behavior?”
Mitchell was working her steady post in the mess hall at the Bantum Center when Ray ran up behind her and slugged her about 6:18 p.m. Saturday, according to officials, The News previously reported.
“He just ran up and punched her right in the face,” Boscio said. “She hit the ground. Broken orbital. They rushed her to the hospital. She is alert now.”
Correction Officer Edwin Brian, who was working with Mitchell at the time, told investigators he saw Ray punch her with a closed fist, the criminal complaint said. She dropped unconscious and struck her face on the floor.
Brian said Mitchell was still unconscious as an ambulance took her to a local hospital, as her face exhibited “disfiguring, swelling and bleeding,” the complaint said.
Boscio said her condition initially appeared more serious. Doctors thought she needed emergency surgery for bleeding on the brain and actually moved her to another hospital for that procedure, but it ended up not being necessary.
Ray landed on Rikers Island initially for allegedly punching the station agent just after 6 a.m. on Sept. 16 at the E. 53rd St. and Lexington Ave. subway station.
Manhattan prosecutors said Ray followed the agent as she walked to a bathroom and to check the escalators. Ray then ran up behind her and punched her in the face, and she dropped to the ground.
Ray was soon caught by police. The station agent suffered a gash to her face, swelling and pain.