Inmates File Lawsuit over Alleged Discrimination

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is under fire due to a class action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Wednesday. The lawsuit claims that the gay, bisexual, and transgender inmates were subject to abusive treatment, including neglect, service refusal, and extra confinement.

The ACLU  is filing the lawsuit on behalf of all GBT inmates within the 3,300 capacity county jail, which generally houses both male and female inmates awaiting trial.

During the booking process, if an inmate identifies as gay, bisexual, or trans, they are automatically put in the “alternative lifestyle tank,” a kept from many activities available to other inmates. According to the suit, these inmates spend 22.5 hours in their in their tank, whereas others were generally allowed outside during the day. Even the men in protective custody were allowed three hours outside. Another claim of mistreatment says the GBT inmates were kept from participating in education, drug treatment, and work programs, all of which have the possibility of reducing prison sentence time, essentially forcing GBT inmates to carry out their maximum sentence.