BALTIMORE — Maryland's Department of Corrections will payout $750,000 to a transgender former inmate who accused a guard of beating her in prison.
Back in June 2019 Amber Canter was on pre-trial hold at Baltimore City's Central Booking and Intake Facility.
That day officer Zanel Santana assisted another guard with Canter, who allegedly refused orders to move into her housing unit.
Court documents say surveillance footage captured Santana dragging and choking Canter to the point of unconsciousness.
Canter reportedly suffered multiple facial fractures as result. Santana and others then filed a false excessive force report about the incident.
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The law firm Murphy, Falcon & Murphy sued the department in August of 2023.
Santana was later convicted of assault and sentenced to three-months behind bars followed by two-years probation.
“This brutal attack was intolerable. 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,” said Malcolm P. Ruff, Trial Attorney at Murphy, Falcon & Murphy. “It also underscores the discrimination transgender people face behind bars."
