Violence and corruption became entrenched at New York City’s Rikers Island jail because officers who ignored or even condoned that culture were moved steadily up the ladder into management.
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s correction commissioner, Joseph Ponte, continued that practice five months ago when he promoted William Clemons, a warden at Rikers, to be chief of department, the highest-ranking uniformed officer. That was against the advice of the Department of Investigation, which had reviewed the man’s record and objected to the promotion.
Mr. Clemons and two others have now stepped down in what Mr. Ponte’s office describes as part of an effort to restructure the bureaucracy and better control violence. This change is a long time coming. But it is not enough to restore public confidence in Mr. Ponte’s judgment.
The controversy over the Clemons promotion surfaced in September when The Times reported that the department under Mr. Ponte’s predecessor had sanitized a 2012 report that found that Mr. Clemons and his deputy warden, Turhan Gumusdere, had been derelict in their jobs and failed to supervise the jail they oversaw at the time.
Along with promoting Mr. Clemons in May, Mr. Ponte made Mr. Gumusdere warden of the largest jail on Rikers Island. In late September, Mr. Ponte was still defending his promotions of Mr. Clemons and Mr. Gumusdere, saying that, based on his own observations, they had shown “exemplary leadership” and were “fully committed to the department’s reform agenda.” He has said he did not see the original report before he made the promotions.
The unedited version of the report said that Mr. Clemons and Mr. Gumusdere had “abdicated responsibility” for reporting inmate fights and violence statistics and “turned a blind eye” when the staff submitted false data. Instead of being demoted, as the report recommended, both were promoted.
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