Exclusive | Female Rikers officer punched in the face by hulking inmate — wants NYC to reinstate solitary confinement

A longtime Rikers Island correction officer needed six stitches to close a gaping gash over her eye Friday, after being bashed in the face by a violent inmate at the notorious city jail.

The 47-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous because she wasn’t cleared to speak publicly, told The Post she’s tired of the Island’s incarcerated getting off scot-free and is calling on the city to revive the recently-sacked solitary confinement.

“They just assault us and come right back into the same housing areas,” said the officer, who has spent a decade on the job.  

“They brag about this,” she added. “‘They say, ‘I just assaulted an officer but nothing’s going to happen to me.’ They used to get put in segregation.” 

The officer was at work Friday afternoon when she saw inmate Rosita Sanders — who stands a hulking 5-feet 10 inches and weighs an oversized 200 pounds — allegedly strike another inmate. 

The officer, who’s a much slighter 5-foot-4, was reporting the assault when Sanders snuck up behind her and clocked her on the side of the face, she said.

“I was just in shock from the blow,” the officer, who has a 12-year-old son, said.

The officer said she asked the inmate, “Why did you hit me?”

Sanders, whose rap sheet includes two alleged assaults from earlier this month, simply responded, “Just spray me!” referring to pepper spray officers carry. 

There was blood gushing down the officer’s face as she grabbed a piece of white paper and pressed it against the wound. 

“I had blood everywhere,” she recalled. “I put a piece of paper on the side of my face and just walked to the clinic.”

Sanders is in Rikers awaiting trial on the alleged attacks from early November, court records show. She was rearrested for pouncing on the unsuspecting officer and hit with second-degree assault and other charges, according to the Correction Officers Union.

But “it doesn’t matter,” said the officer. “She’s already in jail for assault.”

A few days before the violent encounter, the serial assaulter had also attacked another inmate and was right back in general population, the officer told The Post.

The officer says she wants the city to bring back solitary confinement or come up with another punishment for inmates who aggressively abuse correction officers.

There have been more than 450 assaults on correction officers since the City Council banned solitary confinement in December 2023, according to the union.

“The jail ran a little bit better when we used to have (segregation),” she said.

“They have to come up with some type of system where they are held accountable for their actions. You can’t just go around hitting people and not get punished for it.”

Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, pointed the finger at the lefty-led City Council for igniting the issue.

“This unprovoked assault on our officer, who was simply doing her job, is yet another stark reminder of how the City Council’s reckless legislation, which protects violent offenders, while jeopardizing the safety of our officers, has failed everyone in our jails,” said Boscio.

Just last month, an alleged pervert locked up at Rikers groped City Councilwoman Sandy Nurse during a tour of the troubled jail.

“The council members who voted to ban putative segregation should take a close look at the results of this past election and realize that more and more New Yorkers are rejecting their soft-on-crime policies,” said Boscio.

The officer, meanwhile, remains at home taking care of herself and her son.

“My son was like ‘Mom, what happened? Are you all right?’” she recalled. “He’s a little traumatized.”