Correction officer allegedly beaten by inmate at Rikers island

NEW YORK (WABC) -- One of New York's Boldest is seriously hurt after sources say a Rikers Island inmate got the drop on him, as he tried to close and lock the inmate's cell door Friday evening.

His eyes are swollen shut, he has a gash in his scalp, and his body is covered in bruises.

"The cell door's supposed to be closed so the CO closed and secured the environment the way he's supposed to. The inmate started screaming, 'I said nobody is to touch my cell.' He just started savagely beating him," said Norman Seabrook, the Correction Union Chief.

Seabrook visited the officer at Booth Memorial Hospital Friday night, after sources say an inmate, a reputed gang member already in on an assault charge, wailed on the correction officer with no provocation.

The attack comes just a month after two other inmates ambushed Officer Ray Calderon.

"I could have passed out. This could have been my funeral," Calderon said to Eyewitness News days after the attack.

They pounced on Calderon and slashed his face and neck, just missing his carotid artery.

The de Blasio administration has been trying to bring reform to Rikers and reduce violence there.

But union leaders say it isn't moving fast enough, and that it's only a matter of time before an inmate kills an officer.

"Who is in fact running this place? Is it the Correction Department or is it the inmates that are running these gangs, jail system," Seabrook said.

The Bronx DA's Office plans to rearrest the inmate they identified as Michael Gonzalez.

The Department of Correction released a statement saying: "This assault on our officer was unacceptable. Such attacks against the hardworking men and women who serve in our department will not be tolerated. We have zero tolerance for assaults on staff and are deeply committed to creating a culture of safety at the Department of Correction. This inmate will be arrested."