Rikers Island security chief sacked week after correction officer union called for ouster: sources

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Rikers Islands’ security chief was sacked a little more than a week after the correction officers’ called for his ouster over a series of attacks at the troubled jail complex, sources said.

Ronald Brereton — deputy commissioner of security operations for the Department of Corrections — was escorted off Rikers Tuesday, less than two weeks after a DOC officer was viciously slashed in the head while breaking up a fight on Oct. 16.

The Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association called for his removal after the attack — which the union said was just the latest in a string of violent assaults on corrections officers since Brereton’s May 2022 appointment.

Although it wasn’t clear exactly why Brereton was let go, COBA president Benny Boscio praised the move and even seemed to take credit.

“COBA has zero tolerance for incompetent DOC Managers,” Boscio wrote in a post on Instagram, alongside a photo of Brereton that blamed him for being more focused on bringing “frivolous charges” against officers than protecting their safety.

“We will continue to hold anyone who threatens the safety and security of our members, fully accountable for their actions,” he added.

On Oct. 16, a 34-year-old corrections officer was hospitalized with slashes across his head and ears after he tried to stop a crowd of inmates from attacking alleged gangbanger Kareem Reid, 30.

But while the officer was keeping the assailants at bay, Reid — believed to be a member of the Bloods — began slashing his protector from behind with a sharp knife, labor officials said. The officer was eventually helped by a colleague who wrestled the attacker to the ground, according to officials.

“I didn’t believe it because I’m here trying to protect him and the inmate is cutting an officer,” the victim previously told The Post, adding that it was the fourth time he’d been attacked on the job since joining the DOC in 2018.

Assaults on staff at Rikers had been trending slowly downward since 2022, but began to spike in spring 2024, according to figures from the city Comptroller’s Office.

Slashings and stabbings on the prison island have been sporadic, with downward trends following sharp spikes since 2023, according to the figures.

The DOC did not respond to request for comment.