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Md. to Settle Suit Over Abuse at Boot Camps

State to Pay $4.6 Million for Assaults by Staff That One Lawyer Called ‘Sinister’

By Maureen O’Hagan, Washington Post Staff Writer
Originally published in The Washington Post, March 30, 2002

A class-action lawsuit was filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on behalf of youths who went through the state of Maryland’s abusive juvenile boot camps—along with a proposed settlement reached between the youths and the state.

The legal actions stem from allegations that staff members regularly assaulted youths who were sent to the three military-style camps in Western Maryland from 1996 to 1999, the year the camps were ordered closed. Among the injuries inflicted by camp guards were broken bones, chipped teeth, lacerations, deep bruises and limb dislocations that required surgery to correct.

Under the proposed settlement, which involves 890 youths and 14 plaintiffs’ attorneys, the state will pay $4.6 million. The youths were ages 14 to 17 when they were sent to the camps.

The allegations came to light in December 1999 after a Baltimore Sun reporter was allowed to follow a group of youths through the program at the Savage Leadership Challenge in Somerset County. There, in view of the reporter, guards regularly slammed youths into walls, punched them, sat on them and made them cry. The published reports prompted a state investigation, which confirmed that there was a “pattern of abuse” at the camps and that the illegal behavior continued despite directives to change.

The lawsuit contains details of some of the most serious allegations:

• Joe J., of Baltimore, was blindfolded and forced to do jumping jacks at the edge of a rocky ditch. An officer allegedly pushed him into the ditch, where he cut his scalp and began bleeding profusely. Before the youth was hospitalized for stitches, boot camp officials allegedly told Joe to lie about what happened.

• Gary J., of Talbot County, allegedly broke his wrist when he was yanked to his feet by his handcuffs. He was made to do pull-ups, push-ups and other activities until he was finally taken to a doctor a week later.

• Perry G., of Waldorf, allegedly was thrown by guards to the ground so hard that his kneecap was facing in the wrong direction. When he couldn’t get up, officers began kicking him. Two days later, he was taken to the hospital and required surgery.

• Hubert S., of Charles County, had a disability that made it look like his eyes were crossed. Officers made fun of his condition, poked him in the eye and punched him in the face. When he passed out from physical exhaustion, an officer used his boot to smash Hubert’s head to the ground until an imprint was left on each side of his face. After that, an officer slammed his head into a chalkboard, cracking the board.

“It was sinister,” said Stacey Gurian-Sherman, a Takoma Park lawyer who represented eight youths. “How it could have gone on is mind-boggling. . . . Their experience in the boot camps made them worse than when they went in.”

The state admits no wrongdoing in the proposed settlement. However, after the allegations came to light, new leaders were assigned to the Department of Juvenile Justice, and an independent monitor was set up to oversee the state’s remaining juvenile facilities.

Of the $4.6 million settlement, which must be approved by a judge, $2.1 million would be used to cover partial tuition payments for any of the affected youths who want to attend college or a trade school, or get a high school equivalency certificate.

Ten youths who suffered serious physical injuries at the hands of guards will divide a separate award of $1 million, and 50 youths who suffered lesser injuries will divide $795,000. Attorneys for the youths will divide $690,000.

John Coale, a veteran class-action lawyer who worked on the 2 1/2-year project pro bono, said that during negotiations, the state acted “unlike most defendants, who are usually hiding or trying to cover it up. [Instead, they] came right out of the box and said yes, this is a problem. Let’s solve it.”

Maureen Dove, assistant attorney general, said that the terms of the settlement were unusual. “The Department of Juvenile Justice said rather than make this a money thing . . . we should make it something that will help them, that will add value to their lives.”

Although the two sides could have reached a private settlement, Coale said, filing it in court means that the judge will have the power to enforce the terms.

Advocates for juveniles said that they are pleased with the landmark settlement but that they are still pushing for more change in the detention centers, including downsizing, improved education and mental health programs, and higher pay to attract better-trained staff.

“There are kids who are still in crisis in this system,” Gurian-Sherman said. “We need only look at this child who committed suicide” March 14 in a juvenile center.