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and then she heard Thomas rip something. Noel said she observed Thomas lifting Epstein from under his arms and dragging him back out of the corner of the cell and laid him down on the ground to perform CPR. According to Noel, within seconds of Thomas calling out for the cutter she hit the body alarm, which is a button on an MCC staff member's radio that is used to signal distress or an emergency. Noel recalled hearing Thomas say, “Breathe, Epstein, breathe,” and “We're going to be in so much trouble.” Noel said she stood at the door about a foot away from Epstein’s cell and never went in. Noel said Thomas only performed chest compressions and said she did not see Thomas checking for breath or pulse. Noel said that when she saw Epstein, he looked blue and did not have a shirt on or anything around his neck. Noel said she did not get the cutter because Thomas did not need it based upon the ripping sound she heard. Noel said an MCC New York Lieutenant who responded to the alarm asked her what happened, and before she got the chance to answer, Thomas stated, “Oh, it's not her fault, we fucked up.” Noel did not recall making any comments or statements to the Lieutenant. Other than the Lieutenant, Noel did not recall which COs responded to the alarm and she did not know what happened in the cell after MCC New York staff arrived because she was waiting at the bottom of the steps outside the L Tier. Noel said she was alone in the SHU for 20 minutes after they left with Epstein and she kept calling the Control Center to get status updates. Noel told the OIG that Epstein’s cell was approximately 15 feet from the SHU Officers’ Station. Noel said she would have known if someone went in or out of Epstein’s cell overnight and no one did. She also said that there was no indication that any of the inmates could have gotten out of their cells. Noel said she never slept during her shift on August 9-10, 2019. Noel said that when she is seen on the camera at the desk not moving, she was on the computer. Noel then clarified by saying that she worked 5 days of overtime leading up to her shift, so she would begin to doze off; however, she caught herself and never slept. The Lieutenant told the OIG that he was the Operations Lieutenant who relieved the Morning Watch Operations Lieutenant on August 10, 2019, at approximately 5:30 a.m. The Lieutenant said that at approximately 6:33 a.m., he heard a call for a medical emergency in the SHU and immediately responded to the alarm. When he arrived, Noel told him, “Epstein hung himself.” Once inside, the Lieutenant observed that Thomas was performing CPR on Epstein. The Lieutenant stated that he asked, “Where's his bunkie at?” and that Noel responded, in substance, that Epstein did not have a cellmate. Noel also told the Lieutenant, “We didn’t do rounds at 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.” Thomas stated, “We didn’t do the rounds. We messed up.” The Lieutenant took over administering CPR and asked SHU staff to retrieve an AED and call for the duty nurse. The MCC New York Electronics Technician told the OIG that he responded to the emergency call at 6:33 a.m. When the Electronics Technician first arrived in the SHU, Thomas and other MCC New York staff members were picking Epstein up and placing him on a stretcher. The Electronics Technician said he and Senior Officer Specialist 6 performed chest compressions on Epstein while he was on the stretcher and being transported to the Health Services Unit on the second floor.*? The Electronics Technician stated that he 42 Moving an inmate requiring outside emergency medical care to the Health Services Unit provides health care staff and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) with immediate access to any necessary medical equipment and supplies, and allows EMTs faster access to the inmate when they arrive at MCC New York because COs can directly escort EMTs to the Health Services Unit to begin emergency treatment immediately. If EMTs had to be escorted to the housing unit, they would first need to be thoroughly screened, which would delay medical attention. 72 DOJ-OGR- 00023439