Maryland Pays $750K to Trans Inmate Beaten by Guard
Maryland's Department of Corrections will pay $750,000 to Amber Canter, an inmate who sued after being assaulted by a correctional officer.
Maryland’s Department of Corrections will pay $750,000 to a transgender inmate who sued the department after being viciously beaten and choked by a corrections officer.
The lawsuit stems from an incident in June 2019, when Amber Maree Canter — who is currently in custody at the North Branch Correctional Institution in Maryland — was on pre-trial hold at Baltimore City’s Central Booking and Intake Facility.
In her lawsuit, Canter claimed that she had developed a reputation among Central Booking correctional officers as a vocal advocate for transgender rights and frequent critic of some of the facility’s policies prior to the incident, which was sparked by a dispute over Canter being denied recreational time outside of her cell.
According to Canter, Correctional Officer Zanel Santana, who was called in as backup during the verbal dispute, became threatening and abusive towards her after she staged a singular “sit-in” to protest being denied recreational time outside of her cell, something prison officials had previously promised.
After Canter refused to head back to her cell, Santana allegedly yanked Canter up and placed her in a chokehold until she lost consciousness, at which point he and two other officers carried her body for several feet before dropping Canter on her face on the concrete floor.
The officers then dragged Canter’s body back to her cell and did not seek out medical help for nearly 10 minutes, even though she had lost consciousness and sustained a serious open head wound.
Canter was eventually treated for multiple injuries, including fractures to her left orbital bone, optic nerve canal, and anterior skull base, as well as multiple sinus fractures, severe bruising, and internal bleeding.
Santana and other officers allegedly filed a false excessive force report about the incident.
Employing the assistance of the law firm Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, Canter sued the corrections department in August 2023, alleging that the state had failed to protect her from Santana. Her lawyers also submitted video from prison surveillance cameras depicting the assault.
Santana was later convicted of second-degree assault, plus two charges of misconduct in office, for which he was sentenced to three months in prison, followed by two years’ probation. He appealed the verdict, which was upheld by the Appellate Court of Maryland.
Canter had previously sued the department, alleging that prison officials unlawfully denied her access to gender-affirming hormone therapy, resulting in a $92,000 settlement.
In the more recent lawsuit, Canter alleged that prison officials — who were aware of her gender dysphoria — not only failed to protect her from harm by permitting Santana to use excessive force against her, but discriminated against her throughout her time at the prison, violating her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Although Canter had previously named two other officers as defendants in her lawsuit, the decision to settle the lawsuit resolves the complaints against those officers.
Canter’s attorney, Malcolm Ruff, told Baltimore ABC affiliate WMAR that the case highlights a deep-seated culture of anti-transgender bias within Maryland’s Corrections Department that exposes incarcerated transgender individuals to potential discrimination, assault, and other forms of mistreatment.
“This brutal attack was intolerable,” Ruff said. “CO Santana’s deep-seated bias against transgender individuals was so blatant he didn’t mind being recorded. This case highlights the culture of inhumanity in corrections, where bigots like Santana go unchecked. It also underscores the discrimination transgender people face behind bars.”
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