$950,000 Awarded to Trans Maryland Prisoner Dropped on Her Face by Guards
Between 2022 and 2025, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) held between 17,164 and 18,476 prisoners and detainees, according to data from the agency’s website. During that same period, just 120 of those prisoners were transgender, either male-to-female or female-to-male. But they were responsible for an outsized share of litigation settlements during this period, according to a report to state lawmakers on October 1, 2025.
Among those was a $750,000 payout in August 2024 to prisoner Amber Canter, whose brutal assault by guards at the Baltimore City Central Booking and Intake Facility (CBITF) was captured on surveillance video. Canter won an additional $200,000 judgment against one of the guards who was fired on June 13, 2025.
According to her complaint, she was arrested on February 24, 2019, and detained pending trial in DPSCS custody at the CBITF. While there, Canter quickly became known to staff as an advocate and activist for transgender prisoner rights, challenging policies and practices harmful to incarcerated transgender persons.
On June 14, 2019, Canter was informed that she would be transferred to the Maryland Regional Diagnostic & Classification Center (MRDCC). However, guard Sgt. Jakmee Mobley said that if the transfer proved unworkable, Canter would be permitted “out-of-cell recreation time” upon her return to the CBITF that evening. Mobley relayed those instructions to guard Glaudia Vincent, who responded by saying that she “[did not] give a fuck, this [f*****] will not get nothing extra.”
The CBITF attempted the transfer. But the MRDCC warden rejected Canter at that prison’s entrance. Upon returning to the CBITF, Canter asked guard Uchenna Okeke if she could join other detainees having recreational time, as Mobley had authorized. From a nearby post, Vincent interjected: “I’m sick of your f***** ass getting special privileges. Just like I told Mobley, you’re not getting no fucking rec time.”
Canter then requested a supervisor, but Sgt. Monyette Washington refused to summon one. Canter then went into a nearby sallyport, sat in the middle of the room in protest, and told Washington that she was not moving until a supervisor responded to the situation. Washington called guard Zanel Santana for assistance. Santana arrived from another tier and shouted to Washington: “Mace this fucking dick sucker.”
Surveillance video showed Santana then bent down over Canter and wrapped his right arm around her neck in a chokehold. He then used his left arm to clamp his right arm even tighter, placing his left hand on Canter’s head for additional leverage and torque to inflict as much pain as possible—a manner of chokehold expressly forbidden in agency training manuals.
Santana then lifted Canter off the floor, continuing to choke her, and she blacked out. Okeke and Washington then walked on either side as Santana carried the unconscious detainee toward a cell. But neither attempted to intervene to help her as Santana intentionally dropped Canter’s body, letting her fall from his waist level all the way to the concrete floor, slamming face-first on its surface. Santana and Okeke then dragged the unconscious Canter across the common area and left her on her cell floor.
Post-Assault Mistreatment
When Canter regained consciousness, she called for medical attention. For about 10 minutes, Canter was kept in her cell and denied medical care. Eventually, Washington took her to the medical unit, where providers determined that her injuries were so severe that she was transported to the Intensive Care Unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital. There, Canter was diagnosed with a fractured left orbital bone; a fracture to the left optic nerve canal; fractures to her left anterior skull base; multiple sinus fractures and pneumocephalus (air pockets in the intracranial space caused by blunt force trauma); internal bleeding behind her left eye; and severe bruising to her forehead.
Meanwhile, Santana, Okeke, and Washington falsified their use-of-force reports, lying under oath that Santana placed Canter “in an upper chest hold” and that Canter injured herself by throwing herself to the floor from Santana’s grasp.
After four days at Johns Hopkins, Canter was returned to the CBITF. When Mobley saw her, he said: “I see your f***** ass got what was coming to you!” Canter then received a disciplinary ticket related to the incident, citing her for (1) disobeying an order; (2) being disrespectful, (3) engaging in a disruptive act, and (4) making threats. Because Canter was fearful of further retaliation, she accepted a plea agreement to (1) and (2) in exchange for dismissal of (3) and (4), and she then served a sanction of 15 days in segregation.
Finally, on October 18, 2019, Mobley turned over a copy of the surveillance footage to Sgt. Carolyn Murray, who was investigating Canter’s complaint of excessive force. The footage showed that Okeke, Washington, and Santana had lied in their reports. Each was criminally indicted, though Washington and Okeke were acquitted. Santana was found guilty of second-degree assault and two counts of misconduct in office, convictions which the Appellate Court of Maryland affirmed on direct appeal on January 22, 2024. See: Santana v. State, 2024 Md. App. LEXIS 51 (Ct. Spec. App.).
Meanwhile Canter filed suit against Santana, Washington, and Okeke, plus a separate suit against the State of Maryland and higher-level DPSCS officials. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland consolidated the suits, and the parties proceeded to reached their $750,000 settlement, which resolved claims against the State, DPSCS and the acquitted guards—but not Santana. The payout also included fees and costs for Canter’s attorneys, Malcom P. Ruff and Kaitlin M. Skrainar of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy in Baltimore.
As remaining claims proceeded against Santana, Canter filed a motion for default judgment that was largely granted on February 27, 2025. The district court then awarded her $100,000 in compensatory damages and another $100,000 in punitive damages on June 13, 2025. See: Canter v. Maryland, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36749 (D. Md.); and 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113250 (D. Md.).
“Transgender individuals in the prison system are subject to high rates of violence and sexual abuse from both correctional officers and fellow inmates,” the report to lawmakers read, noting “numerous settlements over the years following incidents of violence, sexual assault, harassment and unwarranted use of solitary confinement.” See: Treatment of Transgender Individuals, DPSCS (Oct. 2025).
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Related legal cases
Canter v. Maryland
| Year | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36749 (D. Md.) |
| Level | District Court |
Canter v. Maryland
| Year | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113250 (D. Md.) |
| Level | District Court |
Santana v. State,
| Year | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Cite | 2024 Md. App. LEXIS 51 (Ct. Spec. App.) |