Former Rikers Island guard Brian Coll, already being prosecuted for allegedly covering up the fatal beating of diabetic inmate Ronald Spear in 2012, is now being federally charged for Spear's death itself. A federal grand jury has agreed to bring the additional charge stating that Coll deprived Spear of his constitutional rights—by kicking him repeatedly in the head while he was restrained, killing him.
Spear, 53 at the time of his death, was suffering from severe kidney disease and walked with a cane and a bracelet that read "Risk of Fall," according to the new indictment. He was being held in pretrial detention on a burglary charge and had a lawsuit pending alleging that the jail denied him proper medical treatment. Before his death, he and Coll purportedly yelled at each other over the issue, and Coll punched him.
According to prosecutors, officers Byron Taylor, Anthony Torres, and an unnamed officer restrained Spear, then Coll "repeatedly kicked Spear in the head while Spear was already restrained and lying face-down, prone on the prison floor. Coll continued to kick Spear in the head even after another correction officer told Coll to stop and attempted to shield Spear's head from further blows." Then, the feds allege, "Coll bent down and picked up Spear's head," "put his face inches away from Spear," and said words to the effect of, "That's what you get for fucking with me...Remember that I'm the one who did this to you." He then allegedly dropped Spear's head to the ground.
The Medical Examiner's Office found fresh wounds on Spear's skull and determined that his death was caused by heart disease, with blunt force trauma to the head and diabetes as contributing factors. Prosecutors argue that makes Coll a killer.
An elaborate cover-up allegedly followed Spear's demise, with prosecutors claiming the officers involved agreed to say Spear attacked Coll with a cane, to deny Spear was kicked in the head while restrained, and to omit the presence of Taylor. A Rikers captain purportedly ordered a guard to retrieve a cane from a supply closet to present as evidence, and a rep from the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association supposedly helped Coll, Torres, and an unnamed guard to write their reports, going through multiple drafts before turning them in.
The Bronx District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute the guards before the feds brought cover-up-related charges in June, as well as a charge against Coll related to the beating, but not the death. Coll's new charge carries as much as life in prison, and he and Taylor both face obstruction of justice and false reporting counts. Taylor also faces perjury charges related to grand jury testimony he gave denying involvement. Torres pleaded guilty to two felony false reporting charges and is scheduled to be sentenced in December.
The city settled a lawsuit brought by Spear's family for $2.75 million. Last year, jailer union head Norman Seabrook defended the guards, saying, "Correction officers in this case did everything they were supposed to do."
