There was another lockdown at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Exclusive videos obtained by NY1 show inside the federal jail.
It comes after a murder at the facility earlier this month.
Uriel Whyte was killed on June 7. He had been at the facility for about two years, awaiting trial on gun charges.
What You Need To Know
- A detainee was killed this month at the city's federal jail in Brooklyn
- Detainees on the inside are sharing exclusively with NY1 their stories about horrific conditions inside the jail
- Attorneys and judges have long decried the conditions at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center
Little information has been shared about the murder, even to Whyte’s attorney.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has posted nothing to its website. It sent NY1 a statement when asked about the incident last week.
NY1 has interviewed detainees inside the facility who have been on constant lockdown because of the violence.
“So right now, we’re experiencing a lockdown where essentially, we come out of our cell every three days for a 15-minute shower,” one detainee named Eli told NY1. “You’re literally in solitary confinement when you shouldn’t be.”
NY1 is withholding their last names for fear of retribution.
A notice detainees inside received said the inmate population will remain “secured” until further notice.
“One guy was stabbed in the eye with a makeshift knife,” Eli said. “And these knives, again, I have never been to jail. This is my first time in jail, but these knives are six, nine inches long sometimes, you know, homemade with materials from the steel walls. It’s very violent. There’s stabbings, there’s stabbings at least a couple times a week.”
From inside, NY1 was sent pictures of some of the weapons inmates have obtained, including a razor and a makeshift knife.
“The COs [correction officers] is the one that brings in the phones, the drugs, you know, the razors, the scalpels and stuff like that,” a detainee named Robert told NY1. “Some of the COs in here are gang members.”
NY1 has been interviewing inmates inside the jail about the conditions, obtaining never before seen videos from inside.
The videos show cockroaches on the food, broken light fixtures and mold in the shower.
“They know this place should be shut down, and it is impossible, nearly impossible, for you to fight a case from MDC Brooklyn,” Eli said. “Forget about your constitutional rights. Human rights here are a problem.”
These conditions have been highlighted by attorneys and federal judges.
“A lack of medical care to real serious sanitation issues to maggots in the food to violence, everything you can think about that’s problematic at a jail or prison is problematic at the MDC, and it has been for a very long time,” said David Patton, the former head of Federal Defenders of New York who is now a partner at Kaplan Hecker & Fink.
In January, a federal judge ordered a defendant in a drug case to remain on the outside as he awaited sentencing.
The judge noted, “It has gotten to the point that it is routine for judges in both this District and the Eastern District to give reduced sentences to defendants based on the conditions of confinement in the MDC.”
Judge Jesse Furman went on to say staffing at the facility last year was only at 55%.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons would not respond to the specific allegations in this story.
In a statement to NY1, a spokesperson said it does not comment on matters related to pending litigation or ongoing legal proceedings.
A spokesperson did say the bureau takes seriously its “duty to protect the individuals entrusted to our custody.” It also said facilities are put on modified operations to “thoroughly investigate an incident,” and “this institution will return to normal operations status as soon as possible.”