NYC Rikers Island inmate Jessy Blount in brutal attack on captain Elizabeth Sturdivant

A PRISON guard was repeatedly punched in the face by an enraged inmate, who told her: ‘I’m going to forget you are a female and knock you out.’

New York City Department of Correction’s Rikers Island prisoner Jessy Blount allegedly lost his temper as Captain Elizabeth Sturdivant tried to issue him an infringement notice for assaulting another inmate, a jail source told the New York Daily News.

Before 28-year-old Blount attacked her, Sturdivant used pepper spray to try to get him to move back.

“I’m going to forget you are a female and knock you out,” said Blount, according to the criminal complaint.

Blount, who has a criminal record dating back to 2003, then repeatedly punched Sturdivant in the head before her colleagues raced to her aid.

Sturdivant suffered a large haematoma on her forehead and two black eyes.

“Again we have somebody beaten by an inmate and our hands are tied,” said Patrick Ferraioulo, president of the Correction Captains Association, which represents Sturdivant.

“It’s only going to get worse. People are afraid to defend themselves.”

The NYC Correction Department has changed its use of force policy after multiple cases of inmate abuse. The new rules require officers to first use pepper spray and avoid hitting inmates in the face.

As for Blount, he was rearrested and hit with felony assault charges. It was his second attack against an officer behind bars, records show.

He is serving a seven year jail sentence after an armed robbery in July 2012. He pleaded guilty on July 31 and was later sentenced.

The assault was reportedly the second brutal attack of a prison guard in August.

Martin Quirindongo, 22, who is accused of killing a baby, punched a correction captain so forcefully that he needed over 20 staples to mend his cut head on August 29, according to a criminal complaint.

Violence against staff soared in city jails last year, records show.

The number of inmate attacks on correction officers and civilian staff rose by 31 per cent last fiscal year, according to the Mayor’s management report released last Thursday.

There were 1,057 inmate assaults on department personnel in fiscal year 2015, compared to the 806 in 2014, the report showed.

Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte believes his touted 14-point plan will help stem violence. The sweeping plan includes added security cameras, a new classification system to better identify inmates likely to act out, and the expansion of crisis intervention teams to respond to inmate feuds.

“Commissioner Ponte has zero tolerance for assaults on staff and is deeply committed to creating a culture of safety at the Department of Correction,” agency spokesman Jack Ryan said.