An inmate at New York City’s Rikers Island prison complex has died, the first such death this year, officials said.
Tarz Youngblood, 38, was found unresponsive in his cell at the George R. Vierno Center on Sunday, the city’s Department of Corrections said in a news release. He was then taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The cause of death for Youngblood, who had been in custody since September 5, 2021, is under investigation.
“We will work aggressively to determine the circumstances surrounding Mr. Youngblood’s death. My condolences to his loved ones,” Corrections Commissioner Louis Molina said.
Sixteen New York City jail inmates died last year, the most since 2013, when severe staffing shortages plunged the already troubled prison system into crisis.
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