FILE PHOTO: Jail cells are seen in the Enhanced Supervision Housing Unit at the Rikers Island Correctional facility in New York March 12, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
(Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday said she is taking control of New York's troubled Rikers Island jail complex away from city officials and appointing an independent official to oversee it, citing a decade of worsening violent and dangerous conditions inside the facility.
In a 77-page decision, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan said she would select a "remediation manager," reporting directly to her, who would enjoy broad powers to reform Rikers, including authority to revise the jails' rules, hire staff and take disciplinary actions against employees who violate policies on the use of force.
