A judge on Wednesday found New York City in contempt for failing to staunch violence and brutality at its jails, a scathing ruling that puts the troubled Rikers Island jail complex on the verge of a federal takeover.
In a written ruling, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan said the city had failed to comply with 18 separate provisions of court orders pertaining to security, staffing, supervision, use of force and the safety of young detainees.
