Black correctional officers from the Maryland Correctional Training Center in Hagerstown, Maryland, filed a lawsuit alleging that a group of white guards fostered a hostile working environment.
According to the lawsuit filed in July, a gang of white guards calling themselves “40 West” discriminated against immigrant and Black employees at the correctional facility.
The Daily Record reports that the complaint was filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act or RICO Act, and accuses the white gang of subjecting Black and brown correctional officers to “frequent racial slurs.” Black and brown correctional officers also miss out on overtime and promotions because of the “coordinated efforts by white officers.”
An attorney for one of the plaintiffs, Edith Thomas, said that the white gang of guards has been engaging in illegal behavior for decades and is also known as the “40 West Boys.”
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“Upon information and belief, a group of caucasian COs organized to engage in illegal behavior,” said Thomas in the complaint. “And to take administrative control of MCTC by creating a race-based gang called ’40 West,’ ’40 West boys,’ and/or ’40 West gang’ decades prior to the present.”
The suit, which was transferred to federal court this week, claims members of the “40 West” gang have included some high-ranking officers at MCTC and that officers who are part of the group use masonic imagery to identify each other. One of the guards reportedly has a tattoo of a swastika.
The plaintiffs claim that the “40 West” guards called them racial slurs, including the N-word, and they were told, “Go back to your country” and “We don’t want Blacks here.” The guards were also subjected to white guards making monkey noises over the prison intercom.
“The racial taunts are not merely occasional but insidious, serving as a relentless soundtrack to their workday,” the…
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