My son died on Rikers Island two years ago today

Two years ago today, Oct. 22, 2022, my son, Erick Tavira, died on Rikers Island at age 28. He took his own life in a solitary jail cell, and I grieve for him every day. No parent should have to shoulder the loss of a child. It’s a nightmare, and I wouldn’t wish this unbearable pain on anyone.

On the anniversary of my son’s death, I condemn city agencies and officials that failed, harmed, and neglected Erick and ignored the many warning signs that he would attempt to end his life. To the city and its Department of Correction and Health + Hospitals systems, Erick was less than human, and their consistent failure to care for him speaks volumes about how the city values the lives of people like my son.

Erick came from a close-knit family, with sisters, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and countless loving relatives. He played music and wrote poetry. He was a happy child who loved music and playing with his siblings. But as he grew older, issues with his mental health emerged that we did our best to help him address.

When Erick felt sick, he would check in at a local hospital without telling us, not wanting us to worry. I’m still moved by the strength, courage, and selflessness he had to care for us while he was trying to get better.

In June 2021, Erick went to Metropolitan Hospital, in the throes of a full-fledged mental health emergency. But instead of receiving care from doctors and nurses, hospital police assaulted him, and Erick was arrested.

This marked the beginning of his end.

The video footage I’ve seen of Erick in the hospital waiting room shows someone who desperately needs medical attention. Erick had been to this hospital before. They knew his condition. How could medical professionals not only turn my son away like this, but push him into the criminal legal system?
Erick wasn’t incarcerated for those charges, but he was still left untreated. His mental health issues grew. Just days later, he was arrested again on misdemeanor charges and sent to Rikers Island, where he remained until his death 493 days later.

Jail staff also knew of Erick’s mental health diagnoses. They knew that he needed medication. They knew about his history of self-harm. They knew about the prior suicide attempts. But despite all of these factors, they simply didn’t care.

Through his incarceration, jail staff caused Erick to miss dozens of medical appointments and at least 57 doses of critical medication that must be taken daily to work effectively. DOC and Correctional Health Services staff ignored multiple red flags and repeatedly reported that Erick posed no risk of suicide or self-harm despite obvious indications of the opposite.

A month before Erick took his own life, he was moved to solitary confinement following his assault by another incarcerated person. He was accused of breaking DOC rules, despite clear video evidence that he had done nothing wrong. DOC held a sham disciplinary hearing without Erick present, resulting in his transfer to the George R. Vierno Center (GRVC), a housing facility where many other incarcerated New Yorkers have died.

Erick didn’t want to go to GRVC. He knew that solitary confinement would worsen his condition. But instead of heeding his cries, correction officers doused him with pepper spray at close range and carried him off.

Condemning someone with a long and known history of suicidal ideations and self-harm to a housing area where people with serious mental health needs can be locked in their cells for up to 20 hours per day is not only is this against the law, but it is inhumane.

A month later, Erick was dead. It happened in a unit of GRVC that wasn’t properly staffed with professionals to ensure the safety of the human beings in their care. Erick was locked inside a solitary cell outfitted with pipes and grates placed in locations that DOC knew increased suicide risk. Unsupervised, Erick collected and braided clothes and bedsheets into a makeshift rope before tying it to one of these grates. Though Erick’s official cause of death is suicide, the city and its staff ensured this outcome by both literally and figuratively handing my son the noose.

It is in Erick’s honor that my family demands that no more New Yorkers are forced to suffer this bottomless grief. We demand the closure of Rikers Island and the takeover of the jail system by a federal receivership. These are matters of life and death that City Hall cannot and will not fix.

Tavira is the mother of the late Erick Tavira.