Case 2:20-cv-00122-SI Document 2 Filed 01/21/20 Page 1 of 9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF OREGON PORTLAND DIVISION Amber Danielle Thorrden, Civil Case No. 2:20-cv-00122-SI Plaintiff, v. COMPLAINT FOR VIOLATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS (PRISONER COMPLAINT) Transgender and Intersex Committee, Oregon Department of Corrections, Collette Peters, Brad Cain, Claudia Fischer-Rodriguez, Jamie Breynon, Erica Sage, Officer D. Fletcher, Officer J. Northrup, Officer M. Pinson, Officer J. Carter, Officer J. Curtis, Jury Trial Demanded [RI Yes D No Defendants. Civi l Rights Compl aint (Prisoner Complaint) Page I of9 Case 2:20-cv-00122-SI Document 2 Filed 01/21/20 Page 2 of 9 I. PARTIES Plaintiff Amber Danielle Thorrden Snake River Correctional Institution SID #207637 12 777 Stanton Boulevard Ontario, Oregon 97914 Defendant No. 1 Transgender and Intersex Committee Oregon Department of Corrections 2575 Center Street NE Salem, Oregon 97301 In there official capacity Defendant No. 2 Oregon Department of Corrections 2575 Center Street NE Salem, Oregon 97301 In there official capacity Defendant No. 3 Collette Peters Oregon Department of Corrections 2575 Center Street NE Salem, Oregon 97301 In her official capacity Defendant No. 4 Brad Cain Superintendent Snake River Correctional Institution 777 Stanton Boulevard Ontario, Oregon 97914 In his official capacity Defendant No. 5 Claudia Fischer-Rodriguez BHS Clinical Director 2575 Center Street NE Salem, Oregon 97301 In her official capacity Defendant No. 6 Jamie Breynon Office of Population Management 2575 Center Street NE Salem, Oregon 97301 In her official capacity Defendant No. 7 Erica Sage Oregon Department of Corrections 2575 Center Street NE Salem, Oregon 97301 In her official capacity Defendant No. 8 Officer D. Fletcher Correctional Officer Snake River Correctional Institution 777 Stanton Boulevard Ontario, Oregon 97914 Civil Rights Comp laint (Prisoner Compla int) Personally and in his official capacity Page 2 of9 Case 2:20-cv-00122-SI Defendant No. 9 Document 2 Filed 01/21/20 Page 3 of 9 Officer L. Northrup Correctional Officer Snake River Correctional Institution 777 Stanton Boulevard Ontario, Oregon 97914 Personally and in his official capacity Defendant No. 10 Officer M. Pinson Correctional Officer Snake River Correctional Institution 777 Stanton Boulevard Ontario, Oregon 97914 Personally and in his official capacity Defendant No. 11 Officer J. Carter Correctional Officer Snake River Correctional Institution 777 Stanton Boulevard Ontario, Oregon 97914 Personally and in his official capac ity Defendant No. 12 Officer Curtis Correctional Officer Snake River Correctional Institution 777 Stanton Boulevard Ontario, Oregon 97914 Personally and in his official capacity II. BASIS FOR JURISDICTION A. I am bringing a suite against state officials (a § 1983 claim) B. The federal constitutional rights that are at issue are 1. the Eighth Amendment by a) failing to protect her from harm and b) it's prohibition on cruel and unusual puni shment 2. Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of a) equal protection b) protection form discrimination Civil Ri ghts Complaint (Prisoner Complaint) Page 3 of9 Case 2:20-cv-00122-SI Document 2 Filed 01/21/20 Page 4 of 9 III. STATEMENT OF FACTS I am a female 1 who has been diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria2 (GD), prior to my conviction on 03 April 2015. I had started hormone therapy to treat my Gender Dysphoria in 2010. Leading up to 19 March 2018, I sent communications to the TAIC3, kytes and letters, requesting to be moved to the female housing at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility (CCCF). I was repeatedly 4 told no. On 19 March 2018 I filed a discrimination complaint 5 regarding the fact that the TAIC has housed other transwomen at CCCF, and that given my current hormone levels as well as other bio-metric indicators6, I should like-wise be housed at a women's prison. On 4 May 2018 I received a letter through the mail reporting that on 26 Apri l 20 18 the IDCRC 7 determined that the department considers the matter closed. I have continued to communicate with the TAIC requesting transfer to CCCF. On 16 April 2019, I was asked by the head of PREA 8 , who reports to the TAIC, to send her another letter detailing my request to be transferred to CCCF. I mailed said letter on 22 May 2019. I have gone well beyond exhausting my administrative remedies. All throughout my treatment process, ODOC has tried telling my that they are currently providing the same standard of care indicated by the outside community9. In the community, part of the treatment for GD is the "real-life" experience ofliving full-time within the desired gender, hormonal therapy, and sex reassignment surgeries. They are only providing me with one of these. I am missing out on the much needed "real-life" experience of living as a female. Being placed in a female prison is a necessary step in my treatment, and must not be denied. Likewise, the ODOC is continues to identify me as male, both internally and on their public facing website. How can they claim I am able to live as a fema le, when they continually treat me as a male. The defendants actions, via the auspices of the T AIC, have violated the fo llowing: 1 2 1 4 5 6 7 8 9 I am a transgender, who identifies as female, in dress, style, and action. Likewi se, 1 am legall y femal e. Gender Dysphoria is the clinical diagnosis of being transgender. According to the DSMS , " A transgender perso n suffers from gender dysphoria when that incongruity is so severe that it impairs the individua l's ability to function. " Tran sgender And lntersex Committee - the administrative aspect of ODOC that is res ponsible for the housing of transgender and other "gender non-conforming" inmates. Responses received on 6 December 2017, 9 March 2018 , 17 October 2018 Oregon Department of Corrections discrimination complaint SRCI_ 20 I 8_ 03 _ 057 At the time ofmy arrest, 1 had 46C breasts, zero male sexual function , and female equiva lent muscle mass. There is no indication what this acronym stands for. Erica Sage See Exhibit B, esp 3-23 Civi l Rights Comp laint (Prisoner Complaint) Page 4 of9 Case 2:20-cv-00122-SI Document 2 Filed 01/21/20 Page 5 of 9 (a) the Eighth Amendment by failing to protect me from harm and it's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment; (b) the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection; (c) the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by discriminating in provision of medical treatment and participation in programs and services; (d) the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by discriminating based on sex, sex stereotyping, and/or gender identity; and (e) the "Mental Health Professionals" employed by ODOC categorically refuse me any assistance with updating any of my "Identity Documents", as mandated by the SOC, including, but not limited to my social security card , state id/driver license, or prison id card. In addition, the defendant is violating my right to be free from violence 10 • This includes physical, emotional and psychological violence. (a) In Dec 2015 , for being attacked for wearing a bra. (b) In 2019, the officers 11 assigned to my unit were conducting "faggot checks" 12 on my cellmate and myself. The officers were likewise encouraging some of the other inmates to " keep an eye on the freaks in cell 2" 13 • (c) I was informed by one officer 14 that he thought it would be a bad idea to cell two of "your kind" up together and that he would be keeping an eye on us. This kind of harassment is not uncommon and is done in full view of other inmates, reinforcing the view that this is ODOC's policy and that they may likewise treat us such. (d) On 12 April 2019 15 I was forced to take all of my property and lay it out on the tier so the officer could inspect it. This was done at a time when other inmates had access to the day 0 This right was first recognized by the Supreme Court in Farm er v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 114 S. Ct. 1970, 128 L. Ed. 2 D 8 11 ( 1994) . The Supreme Court agreed with her, holding that "prison officials have a duty . . . to protect prisoners from violence at the hands of other prisoners" because corrections officers have "stripped [the inmates] of virtually every means of self-protection and forec losed their access to outside aid ." Id. at 833 (internal quotation marks omitted). Courts have since clarified that the right to be free from violence at the hands of oth er inmates extends to inmates housed in state or local custody. See Cortez v. Skol, 776 F.3d l 046, l 049-50 (9th Cir. 2015) (recognizing a claim based on Farmer brought by a state prisoner). 11 Officer Fletcher and Officer Northrup 12 Thi s is the tenn the officers in question used when discussing the events with other inmate s. 13 I was housed on unit I B 1, in cell 02 , bunk A (top bunk), at Snake River Correctional Institution (S RCI ) 14 Thi s was done by Officer Northrup " Thi s was done by Officer Pinson ' Civil Rights Complaint (Prisoner Complaint) Page 5 of9 Case 2:20-cv-00122-SI Document 2 Filed 01/21/20 Page 6 of 9 room and several walked past my belongings, including my feminine undergarments and incontinence supplies. The pretense was to ensure I had no contraband, but in reality 16 it was a blatant attempt to show the "freak 17" off to the whole unit. (e) On 14 April 2019 18, the unit officer told me "I don't like your kind. Don't talk to me" (f) On 29 May 2019 19 , the unit officer came to my door about five minutes after my cell mate left on transport for the women's prison at CCCF and started yelling at me, accusing me of keeping some of my cell mates property, specifically an electronic keyboard 2° . He later gave me a cell-in 21, restricting me to my cell. The reason for the cell-in was stated as my belongings being a fire hazard. He specifically singled out my legal totes 22 as being the fire hazard. This cell-in came after he did a cell search 23 and left a paper indicating that my cell was in compliance. Later I found the working draft of this suite crumpled up in my trash can. The only one who could have done this is the officer, as I had no cell mate. (g) On more than one occasion, I have been celled-in solely on the whim of an officer24 • (h) I have had mental-health related paperwork confiscated 25 from a folder. This was as I was headed to my mental-health call-out. (i) My legal work keeps getting confiscated, many times without even receiving a confiscation report. This is a blatant attempt to impede my attempt at exercising my right to: (a) challenge my conviction. (b) pursue legal action against ODOC and it's representatives. (c) seek remediation for the violation of my ci vii rights. Recently, the ODOC has begun an apparent policy 26 of transferring transwomen only after 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 The officer was overheard telling one of his coworkers this . The officer was overheard using this term in reference to the plaintiff on more than one occasion. This was again Officer Pinson. The incident occurred at approximately 0750. This was again Officer Pinson. The started at approximately 0525 , which is before the doors are first opened in the morning. The keyboard in question is a Yamaha E343 Electronic Keyboard purchased in December of2017. The cell-in was for seventy-two hours, the maximum amount of time allowed. We are required to store our lega l paperwork in a clear plastic tote. I keep min e under my desk . T his happened at approximately 0720. T hi s was Officer Carter. This was Officer Curtis. T hi s assertion is based on the observation that the last three transfers of MtF transgenders from a male institution to a female one were done within months of the ACLU filed letters of representation for the inmates . Civil Rights Complaint (Prisoner Complaint) Page 6 of9 Case 2:20-cv-00122-SI Document 2 Filed 01/21/20 Page 7 of 9 they initiate legal action against the state for housing them at a male facility, making it a de facto requirement to spend a several hundred dollars 27 before they will truly consider one for transfer to the women's prison. They likewise continue to classify us as Male 28 , irregardless of our true gender identity 29 . All of these above issues show that the defendant is discriminating against me, on the grounds of the cognitive dissonance between my gender identity and my physical sexual characteristics. IV. STATEMENT OF CLAIM Claim I Intentionally inflicting emotional pain and suffering by transferring the plaintiff to a male institution, despite her pleading not to, and her insistence that this was "a very bad idea" . Claim II Intentionally inflicting physical pain and suffering by transferring the plaintiff from a unit she was tolerated on to a known "hard" unit resulting in her being attacked and receiving a scar above her left eye. Claim III Discriminating against the plaintiff by refusing to transfer her to a women's prison, intentionally limiting her ability to satisfy the sixth criterion 30 - a twelve-month experience of living in an identity-congruent role - of the requirements for the treatment of her gender dysphoria 3 1, despite : a) the presence of other pre-op transgenders at CCCF, b) the plaintiff being hormonally fema le 32 , c) the plaintiff being emotionally female, 27 28 29 30 31 32 At the time of printing, filing a 42 U.S.C. 1983 costs $400, $350 for the filin g fee and $50 for a processing fee . Despite having am Inmate Communication from the records department dated 20 Aug 20 19 stating that the plaintiff is listed as female, according to the departments computer system, as of 06 December 2019, the plaintiff is still listed as male. This continues to be a painful reminder that ODOC does not recognize the plaintiff as she is - as a woman . It is acknowledged by BHS that I am cognitively and emotiona lly fema le. I am likewise legally and hormon ally Female. See Exhib it B, Section II ( 13) See Exhi bit B, Section II See Exhi bit A. Civil Ri ghts Complaint (Prisoner Complaint) Page 7 of9 Case 2:20-cv-00122-SI Document 2 Filed 01/21/20 Page 8 of 9 d) the plaintiff being cognitively female , e) the plaintiff being legally female. Claim IV Negligence for failing to transfer plaintiff to a women's prison despite multiple threats of physical violence to her33 • Claim V egligence for failing to timely address repeated attempts at sexual violence against plaintiff' 4 . V. EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES I have filed for administrative relief as to all claims in Section IV and have concluded all ad ministrative appeals available to me. VI. RELIEF WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays this Court to grant the following: (a) Assume jurisdiction of this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 1343(3),(4) and 2201 et. , seg .. (b) Adjustment of all county, state and federal files, including all medical, legal and identity documents, to reflect plaintiffs correct gender and name. (c) Immediate transfer to the women's prison at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. (d) That plaintiff be awarded the sum of $6,000,000.00 in non-economic damages for defendant' s intentional infliction of emotional distress against plaintiff; (e) That plaintiff be awarded the sum of $3 ,000,000.00 in economic and non-economic damages for Plaintiffs physical pain and suffering; 33 34 According to The Report of the 20 15 U.S. Transgender Survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality in Washington DC, "Mismatches between identification documents and outward gender presentation can create risks to the health and safety of transgender people. Transgender people who present mismatched identification are verbally harassed, phys ically assaulted, denied service or benefits ... " There is no administrative relief for refusing to move an inmate from one unit to another, nor is their relief for them refusin g to properly handle what should be a PREA (Pri son Rape Elimination Act) complaint. Civil Ri ghts Complaint (Prisoner Complaint) Page 8 of9 Case 2:20-cv-00122-SI Document 2 Filed 01/21/20 Page 9 of 9 (f) That plaintiff be awarded the sum of $1,500,000.00 in non-economic damages for defendants compensatory damages for negligence; (g) That plaintiff be awarded the sum of $2,500,000.00 in non-economic damages for the various and deliberate violations of constitutional and civil rights perpetrated upon plaintiff by the named defendants . (h) That the plaintiff be awarded the sum of $1,500,000.00 in non-economic damages for emotional distress of having to rewrite, retype and reprint her legal works. (i) Reimbursement of all filing, court, attorney, and other costs associated with the filing of this complaint. U) For such other and further relief the court deems just and appropriate under the circumstance. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correc Signed this 06 day of December, 2019. Civi l Rights Compl aint (Prisoner Complaint) Page9of9