Family remembers NYC teen allegedly killed by off-duty correction officer
The family of a Bronx teenager allegedly gunned down by an off-duty New York City correction officer while apparently holding a water-pellet gun said Friday it was “mind-blowing” to learn that the suspected killer was a member of law enforcement.
“It feels insane,” victim Raymond Chaluisant’s half-sister Jiraida Esquilin told The Post. “[Correction officers are] supposed to be our safety. We go to these men for safety. Understand?”
“It’s like with NYPD — we’re not even safe anymore.”
Dion Middleton, 45, allegedly shot Chaluisant as he sat in the passenger seat of a silver Acura at the southeast corner of the Cross Bronx Expressway and Morris Avenue at 1:30 a.m. Thursday. First responders said a water-pellet gun fell out of the teen’s lap when they opened the door.
Esquilin — who was irate after hearing reports that Middleton went to work after the shooting — said Chaluisant’s father had just died six months ago.
“We’re still grieving from our father,” she said. “And to know that we got this call, it’s hurting. We want justice.”
Chaluisant was an outgoing, “family-oriented” man who was “not into gangs,” Esquilin added.
“He did not deserve this, especially from a whole correction officer that was off duty,” Esquilin said. “And then for him to go to work, as if nothing happened. It’s mind-blowing … He basically had no remorse because you’re going into work the next day knowing you shot an 18-year-old little boy.”
A woman at Esquilin’s home, who declined to give her name but described herself as Chaluisant’s stepsister, said the situation should never have turned deadly.
“As a correctional officer, you’re trained to be patient,” the stepsister said. The officer could have opted not to shoot but instead “approach the car and say something,” she added.
“Even when you feel safe, you’re still not safe,” she said.
Esquilin’s mother, Lilly, who called herself Chaluisant’s stepmother, recalled the teen saying he was going to McDonald’s before a call came in that he had been shot.
“We want justice. We want justice,” Esquilin said. “He was only 18 years old. We just lost our father six months ago. We’re still grieving from our father. And to know that we got this call, it’s hurting.”
The shooting is a “really big burden to take,” she added.
“He recently stopped going to school because we just lost our dad six months ago,” Esquilin said. “His head wasn’t there for school. He took some time off to take care of his mom and his younger sister.”
