The family of a man who died at Rikers Island in August is suing the city, alleging he took his own life after corrections officers ignored explicit warnings about his mental health, according to court documents.
Jimmy Avila died by suicide on Aug. 30, just hours after his arraignment on murder and weapons charges. His attorney had asked that he receive immediate mental health treatment and be placed in protective custody, according to court documents.
The lawsuit claims Avila was placed alone in a cell without monitoring, even after his attorney flagged his mental health needs in open court. His death underscores the ongoing mental health crisis inside the city’s jails, which face the threat of a federal takeover following repeated failures to protect detainees.
“We want to send this message to people mourning with us so we can tell people suffering and living with mental health that we see you, we support you, and we hope we can bring more attention to those struggles,” said Alex Avila, Jimmy’s older brother, in a video statement released by the family.
Avila, 34, had been charged in connection with a shooting at a Bronx apartment building that left one person dead and two others wounded. Following his arrest on Aug. 27, he was taken to Lincoln Hospital for what the lawsuit describes as “acute medical and mental health needs.”
Three days later, at his arraignment, attorney Francis White of the Legal Aid Society requested that Avila receive mental health treatment and be placed in protective custody, the lawsuit states.
Instead, corrections staff allegedly violated department policy by failing to follow proper intake procedures for someone experiencing a mental health crisis, the lawsuit says. Avila was allegedly left unmonitored in a cell at the West Facility, where he took his own life within six hours of arriving.
“Mr. Avila was killed by the Respondents’ failure to address his obvious medical and mental health needs, despite their well-established obligation to do so,” a court document says.
The lawsuit seeks surveillance footage, medical records, internal communications and the names of all officials involved in Avila’s arrest, transport, medical care and detention. It also asks a judge to preserve evidence related to his death.
The city’s Department of Correction referred questions to the city’s Law Department, where a spokesperson said the city is reviewing the lawsuit.
At the time of his death, Avila had been in custody for less than 24 hours. His family remembered him as a community advocate and tenant leader.
He was the 11th person to die in city custody or shortly after release this year, which is more than double the five deaths recorded in all of 2024.
Avila’s death came less than two weeks after another man, 29-year-old Ardit Billa, died at the same facility, prompting the suspension of three jail staffers.
The Legal Aid Society, which represented Avila, said in a previous statement that he had serious mental illness and should have been under close supervision.
Advocates and public defenders have repeatedly warned about the treatment of people with severe mental illness at Rikers, including prolonged stays in solitary confinement without medication.
In November, a federal judge found the city in contempt for failing to protect detainees from violence and inadequate medical care.
The city’s jail system remains under federal monitoring, and advocates are pressing for a full receivership that would remove control from local officials.