An inmate at the notoriously under-staffed Rikers Island jail died Friday after choking on an orange while no correction officer was present to come to his help, sources told the Daily News. Herman Diaz, 52, was detained at Rikers on Feb. 27 for alleged misdemeanors that include robbery and violating parole. According to his brother, Eddie Diaz, the medical examiner “found pieces of orange in the stomach in the autopsy.” He added, “[Herman] was coming out of the bathroom and he was pointing toward his neck, choking. Inmates tried to help him and weren’t successful.” Sources told the News that an officer was in the security booth but didn’t leave to help; video footage was said to capture other inmates trying unsuccessfully to save Diaz. “I want to see the video. I want to know how long did it take for anyone with [the Department of Correction] to get to my brother to help him,” Eddie Diaz said. “Why wasn’t a [correctional officer] there?”
