January 19th, 2024 by WCBC Radio

5 black correctional officers at a Hagerstown, Maryland, prison say white officers are controlling the facility with a race-based “gang.” The white officers are accused of discrimination, retaliation and fraud, adding that they have also created a hostile work environment. The lawsuit is partially relying on the statute used in the prosecution of organized crime in a federal lawsuit being heard in Greenbelt District Court. The lawsuit names the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the warden, security chief of the Maryland Correctional Training Center, two other prison employees and 25 John Does. The suit says the defendants engaged in “shocking racial discrimination and egregious harassment” of officers based on their race and ethnic background.  The employment discrimination case was initially filed in Baltimore Circuit Court in October 2023, but it was immediately transferred to federal court at the request of the state’s corrections department.