--- description: Rare surveillance video shows violence in troubled New York City jail title: Rikers Island Violence Exposed in Brutal New Security Video image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Security Camera Shows Inmate Brawl at Rikers Island Jail by [Josh Sanburn](/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 23, 2015 7:46 PM CUT by [Josh Sanburn](/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 23, 2015 7:46 PM CUT Rare security camera footage from inside New York City’s Rikers Island jail shows a guard throwing an inmate to the floor and a gang-related brawl at a juvenile facility involving close to a dozen prisoners. [_The New Yorker_](http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/exclusive-video-violence-inside-rikers "undefined") has obtained video surveillance from inside New York City’s main jail that shows Kalief Browder, who was arrested in 2010 at the age of 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack, being pushed to the ground by a jail official as he was being taken to the shower. The incident occurred Sept. 23, 2012, and the Department of Correction says it is looking into the video. In an earlier incident captured on the jail’s surveillance cameras in October 2010, Browder is beaten by numerous inmates. That episode occurred in a housing unit at Rikers’ adolescent jail, which the _New Yorker_ reports was run by a gang_._ Rikers Island has been plagued by violence for years. In December, the federal government [sued](http://nypost.com/2014/12/18/feds-sue-nyc-over-rikers-island-jail-violence/ "undefined") the city over civil rights violations against teenage inmates. That same month, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced [an end to solitary confinement](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/mayor-bill-de-blasio-rikers-island-visit.html "undefined") for 16- and 17-year-olds at Rikers. The mayor is now trying to [reduce the jail’s population](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/nyregion/mayor-de-blasios-plan-to-shrink-rikers-population-tackle-court-delays.html "undefined") by speeding up the process for Rikers inmates who are awaiting trial. [Read more at the _New Yorker_](http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/exclusive-video-violence-inside-rikers "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3833422/rikers-island-video-surveillance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3833422/rikers-island-video-surveillance/"},"headline":"Security Camera Shows Inmate Brawl at Rikers Island Jail","datePublished":"2015-04-23T19:46:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:37:43.795Z","description":"Rare surveillance video shows violence in troubled New York City jail","url":"https://time.com/3833422/rikers-island-video-surveillance/","keywords":["Bill de Blasio","Crime","New York City","Jail"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Josh Sanburn","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/josh-sanburn/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3833422/rikers-island-video-surveillance/","name":"Security Camera Shows Inmate Brawl at Rikers Island Jail"}}]}] ```