GMaps
July 5, 2019 By Shane O’Brien
A New York City corrections officer was arrested Wednesday for assaulting a co-worker and her friend outside a nightclub in Elmhurst last month.
Cotrina Theodore, 32, was arrested July 3 and charged with two counts of assault in the third degree for attacking the two women at Amadeus Nightclub at 7951 Albion Ave. on June 22, police said.
The Rikers Island corrections officer assaulted co-worker Amanicque Paul, 26, on the street outside the club before repeatedly hitting Paul’s friend Cheryl Smith, 25.
Smith does not work for the Department of Corrections, according to authorities.
Theodore, who joined the Dept. of Corrections in 2015, punched both women in the face and body. Both victims sustained facial injuries, according to police.
An argument in the club’s gender neutral bathroom between Theodore and Smith sparked the fight. The fight then spilled out onto the street, according to the New York Daily News.
Amateur video footage appears to show Theodore striking Paul in the face numerous times after tearing off the victim’s wig. Paul suffered two black eyes and a burst lip as a result of the attack, while Smith sustained bruising to the face, according to the New York Daily News.
The Department of Corrections has suspended Theodore but has not made a final determination as to her employment.
“We are aware of this incident,” said Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Peter Thorne in a statement. “We take these claims seriously, and this matter is under investigation.”
