BRONX, NY – A NYC Department of Correction Officer, Dionisio Rosario, 33, has been indicted on multiple charges, including evidence tampering, falsifying business records, and official misconduct for allegedly planting a makeshift weapon in an inmate’s cell and falsely reporting it as recovered contraband. The incident was inadvertently captured on Rosario’s body-worn camera.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and NYC Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber announced the indictment. Clark described the alleged act as “unconscionable and absurd,” while Strauber emphasized the lack of “honor and integrity” demonstrated by the officer.
Rosario, a seven-year veteran of the NYC Department of Correction, was arraigned before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Joseph McCormack and is due back in court on December 19, 2023.
According to investigators, on April 4, 2023, Rosario and other members of the DOC Emergency Services Unit were conducting a search in the Robert N. Davoren Center’s 5 Upper North housing area. During this search, Rosario engaged in a use of force with an inmate.
Video surveillance, including footage from his own body-worn camera, allegedly shows Rosario planting a 4.5-inch shard of sharpened plexiglass in the inmate’s cell. He is seen placing the object under a piece of paper by the sink area, searching other parts of the cell, and then retrieving the object, falsely stating he found it by the sink. Rosario is accused of providing false information in four DOC reports.