NEW YORK – Investigators from multiple federal agencies on Monday launched an “interagency operation” into the troubled New York City lockup, where Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held.
Investigators from the Bureau of Prisons, the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General and other law enforcement agencies arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Monday, the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement to The Associated Press.
“The law enforcement operation is designed to achieve our shared goal of maintaining a safe environment for both our employees and the individuals incarcerated at MDC Brooklyn,” the agency said. Prison officials declined to provide specific details about the operation on Monday morning.
But the move comes in the form of jail Faced with increasing scrutiny over appalling conditionsAmid massive violence and several deaths and pressure from the Justice Department and the Bureau of Prisons to fix problems in jail And hold criminals accountable.
last month, Federal prosecutors charged nine inmates In connection with the attacks that took place from April to August at the Metropolitan Detention Center, the only federal prison in New York City.
The allegations, made public last month, detailed serious safety and security issues at the prison, including allegations that two inmates were stabbed to death and another was stabbed in the spine with a makeshift ice breaker .
A corrections officer was also accused of shooting at a car during an unauthorized high-speed chase.
The criminal charges offered an opportunity to highlight violence and dysfunction at the prison, which houses about 1,200 people, including Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
In a statement Monday, the Bureau of Prisons said its operation in Brooklyn was pre-planned and “there is no active threat.”
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The agency said it would not provide additional details about what exactly they were doing there Monday until the operation is complete “in an effort to protect the safety of all personnel inside the facility and maintain the integrity of this operation.”
The facility, located in an industrial area on the Brooklyn waterfront, holds about 1,200 detainees, up from 1,600 in January.
It is used primarily for post-arrest detention of people awaiting trial in federal courts in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Other prisoners are there to serve short sentences after conviction.
People held at the Brooklyn prison have long complained about rampant violence, horrific conditions, severe understaffing, and rampant trafficking of drugs and other contraband, some of which is facilitated by staff.
Additionally, they say they face frequent lockdowns and are barred from leaving their rooms for meetings, calls, showers or exercise.
