Rikers Island inmate dies of suspected drug overdose, becoming 10th detainee to die this year

NEW YORK — A Department of Correction officer was fired Monday after a Rikers Island inmate died of a suspected overdose. Inmate Elijah Muhammad was found unresponsive inside the island’s George R. Vierno Center about 9:45 p.m. Sunday. He died at the jail, making him the 10th detainee to die in city custody this year. It’s believed Muhammad, a native of Kentucky, had overdosed, possibly on fentanyl, sources with knowledge of the case said. “It’s just really sad that DOC can’t keep people alive,” Anisah Sabur of the #HALTsolitary Campaign said Monday. “This gentleman died in a cage on a holy da...