ABOVE: Dauphin County Prison. Screenshot via WHTM ABC27.
A Pennsylvania trans woman was maced by correctional officers using anti-LGBTQ slurs after she was placed in a men’s holding cell, a federal lawsuit alleges.
Ms. Henderson, a 27-year-old Black, trans woman whose full name was left off of court documents, filed a lawsuit in federal court against Dauphin County – which includes Pennsylvania’s capital of Harrisburg – Dauphin County Prison (DCP) and several prison employees after she was “physically and mentally abused” by officers and inmates in a male dorm, according to the complaint.
The case highlights the dangers for trans detainees placed in cells opposite to their gender identity. Recently, the Biden administration restored guidelines requiring federal prisons to consider the safety of trans people, which LGBTQ+ advocates say will “hopefully help keep transgender people in its custody safe.”
Henderson, who has a “definite female appearance,” was initially jailed in October 2020 for a “minor offense,” according to court documents. Upon arrival at DCP, she was subject to a strip search from a male officer and placed in an open dorm with about 50 men.
“Ms. Henderson was fed to the wolves at DCP,” Alexandria Lappas, Henderson’s attorney, told the Blade in an email.
The complaint notes Henderson was “frightened,” as the dorm had one sink and one toilet, cordoned off by only a sheet. She delayed using the bathroom for as long as possible but eventually needed to use the restroom.
“Within seconds,” a male inmate rushed toward Henderson, attempting to assault her, documents said. She quickly pulled up her pants and retreated to her bunk, “shaking and sobbing.”
That’s when a male corrections officer, who is identified as “John Doe” in the complaint, threatened her with derogatory and offensive remarks.
“Look, f**got, do not disrupt my pod,” he said, according to the lawsuit. “Shut your f***ing mouth or I’ll spray you.”
Lawyers representing DCP and the other defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, many of the claims made in the complaint were denied.
“After reasonable investigation, Answering Defendants are without sufficient knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truthfulness of the averments,” said the answer to the complaint.
But, according to Henderson’s lawyers and PennLive, the scene was caught on video. “That the corrections officers felt comfortable attacking Ms. Henderson on camera speaks volumes about the conduct that is considered permissible at DCP,” said Lappas.
Next, another unnamed corrections officer appeared and “without warning” sprayed mace in Henderson’s face. He also pulled out her hair and dragged her to the ground, the complaint alleges.
“I can’t breathe,” Henderson told the guards.
“Shut up, f**got!” they responded. “You deserve it!”
Throughout the incident, an officer’s foot was pressing her back to the concrete, according to the lawsuit.
She was taken to a shower, where an officer recorded her while another laughed.
With her skin still burning from the mace, Henderson was placed in a suicide cell with a non-working toilet with feces all over it, no water and no cup. She had only a mat to sleep on, said the complaint.
Four or five days later, she posted bond and was released, according to court documents. At a hospital, she was diagnosed with a concussion.
“DCP’s failure to provide for reasonable accommodations resulted in Ms. Henderson experiencing significant trauma and abuse not only from another detainee but, more egregiously, from corrections officers,” said Lappas. “She was victim-blamed, disregarded, humiliated, and attacked by the very people who were supposed to protect her.”
Lappas added: “We are hopeful that Dauphin County, the proud home of Pennsylvania’s capitol, will humbly learn from the nightmare Ms. Henderson experienced while at DCP and institute meaningful and lasting changes to their policies and procedures so that no one else must suffer the horrible trauma and abuse she did.”
