Attorney General James’ Office of Special Investigation Releases Report on Death of Jose Mejia Martinez

January 16, 2025

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James' Office of Special Investigation (OSI) today released its report on the death of Jose Mejia Martinez, who died on June 10, 2021 while incarcerated in the George R. Vierno Center (GRVC) on Rikers Island. Following a comprehensive investigation, including review of Department of Correction (DOC) staff incident reports, security camera footage, witness interviews, and comprehensive legal analysis, OSI concluded that a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that the correction officer staffed on Mr. Mejia Martinez's unit committed a crime, and therefore criminal charges should not be pursued.

During the morning and afternoon of June 10, 2021, the correction officer staffed on Mr. Mejia Martinez's unit witnessed Mr. Mejia Martinez in a severely disoriented state. Mr. Mejia Martinez appeared unsteady on his feet as he alternated between sitting, standing, and staggering. At 12:11 p.m. the correction officer witnessed two incarcerated people physically assist Mr. Mejia Martinez into his cell. However, in violation of DOC rules, the correction officer failed to call a medical emergency. He also failed to take any other action to assist Mr. Mejia Martinez, such as administering Narcan.

The correction officer continued to check on Mr. Mejia Martinez periodically for three hours, until 3:05 p.m. Other people housed in Mr. Mejia Martinez's unit continued to check on him throughout the afternoon, and at 3:38 p.m., appeared to grow increasingly alarmed by his condition. They alerted the correction officer, who went to Mr. Mejia Martinez's cell with another correction officer and found Mr. Mejia Martinez unresponsive and activated a medical emergency. Medical aid began at 3:44 p.m., and Mr. Mejia Martinez was declared dead in the housing unit at 4:39 p.m. The medical examiner found that the concentration of Methadone in Mr. Mejia Martinez's blood was a fatal dose.

Following a preliminary assessment of the incident, OSI determined that the failure of the correction officer to call a medical emergency or provide immediate aid to Mr. Mejia Martinez qualified as an omission, or failure to perform a duty imposed by law, which contributed to Mr. Mejia Martinez's death. Therefore, OSI conducted this investigation pursuant to Executive Law Section 70-b.

Under New York law, proving criminally negligent homicide as an omission would require proving beyond a reasonable doubt, among other things, that the correction officer caused Mr. Mejia Martinez's death. In this case, the medical examiner opined that providing Narcan when Mr. Mejia Martinez was first observed in a disoriented state, or in the ensuing hours when the officer continued to check on him, would have increased his chances of survival, but did not say with certainty that such action would have saved his life. As a result, OSI concluded that, although the correction officer's failure to call a medical emergency or render aid probably contributed to Mr. Mejia Martinez's death, a prosecutor would not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this failure caused Mr. Mejia Martinez's death.