A New York City correction officer was sentenced to two years’ probation and 250 hours of community service after failing to render aid for nearly 8 minutes when a young man incarcerated at Rikers Island tried to hang himself five years ago, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office announced Thursda y. In January a Bronx jury found Officer Kenneth Hood, 38, guilty of reckless endangerment and official misconduct for the incident in the George R. Vierno Center on Nov. 27, 2019, which left 18-year-old Nicholas Feliciano paralyzed. Hood’s supervisor, Captain Terry Henry, was found not guilty of the same charges. “The defendant neglected his duty to protect those in custody,” Bronx Attorney General Darcel Clark said in a statement. “Mr. Feliciano survived but his future was shattered. The officer’s callousness is matched by the senselessness of his behavior.” Feliciano tried to hang himself in a holding cell roughly 10 feet away from the desk where Hood was sitting, according to court documents. Security video showed Hood took no action for 7 minutes and 51 seconds after noticing Feliciano, and told a fellow officer to close the cell door when the other officer opened it to check him, the documents state. Feliciano, who had been arrested for a parole violation, was left hanging for nearly 8 minutes before Henry and two other officers cut him down, according to court documents. He suffered severe brain damage and is currently in a residential facility, according to the statement. In April, the city settled a lawsuit brought by Feliciano’s family and agreed to pay $28 million — one of the largest settlements in history for a jail incident — for damages and the ongoing medical care he will need. After the city settled Feliciano’s lawsuit in April, his grandmother Madeline Feliciano told NY1, “You got people walking by seeing him hanging and nobody intervenes. How does that happen?” Two other officers who were charged in the incident — Daniel Fullerton and Mark Wilson — pleaded guilty to lesser offenses in October 2023. Hood was fired from the Department of Correction after his conviction, officials said. “Officers have a duty to protect persons in custody, and when they fail to do so, they will be held accountable,” Jocelyn Strauber, the city’s Department of Investigation commissioner, said in a statement. “I thank the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for its partnership on this investigation and continuing commitment to ensure that safety and security in the city’s jails.” ...read more read less