Black correctional officers file racial discrimination suit citing ‘gang’ of white peers, RICO activity

The lawsuit says “40 West” members subjected Black colleagues and other employees of color at Maryland Correctional Training Center to racial slurs and kept them from promotions and shifts.

A group of correctional officers in Maryland launched a lawsuit alleging a “gang” of their white peers created a culture of racism against Black and immigrant staffers.

According to The Daily Record, Black employees and other correctional officers of color at Maryland Correctional Training Center filed the lawsuit in Baltimore City Circuit Court in July, alleging members of the “40 West gang” subjected them to routine racial slurs and caused them to lose out on promotions and overtime shifts. 

Officials moved the case to federal court in Baltimore last week.

“Upon information and belief, a group of caucasian COs organized to engage in illegal behavior 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,” wrote attorney Edith Thomas, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers.

Thomas said they look forward to getting justice for their clients.

“One of the big goals is to reform the department so this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” she added.

A spokesperson from Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said in an emailed statement that the office is aware of the complaints and “is investigating the serious claims.”

According to the lawsuit — which asserts discriminatory allegations and civil claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — several classes of correctional officers were damaged by the white correctional officers’ coordinated activities.

The complaint alleges the white 40 West members worked to help each other earn promotions, receive training that benefited their careers and pick up overtime shifts ahead of Black or immigrant correctional officers. It also asserts department leaders targeted people of color for discipline over minor infractions while white officers’ misconduct sometimes went ignored by the DPSCS hierarchy.

The lawsuit notes that MCTC is the reception center for male inmates from Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick, Montgomery and Carroll Counties. It typically houses medium- and minimum-security male prisoners for relatively short stays.

The suit claims “40 West gang” members have included some high-ranking correctional officers at MCTC and that they use Masonic imagery to identify each other. One allegedly has a swastika tattoo.

The plaintiffs also say they were exposed to significant racial abuse, including the use of the N-word and other slurs, being ordered to “Go back to your country” and told “We don’t want Blacks here,” plus hearing other officers make monkey noises over the prison’s intercom system.

According to the lawsuit, DPSCS ignored the plaintiffs’ allegations of racism, instead retaliating against them for reporting issues.

Thomas Eiler, another lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the name “40 West” seems to derive from U.S. Route 40, which runs across the top of Maryland and through Hagerstown.

“This is clearly a situation where many, many people have been affected by the discrimination and unlawful choices of a select group of people in power,” Eiler noted, The Daily Record reported.

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