A woman is suing employees of a Florida prison after they allegedly booked her into an all-male jail where she spent about 10 hours with 40 men in a cell because the employees thought she was transgender, according to reports.
Fior Pichardo de Veloz, 55, traveled to Miami from the Dominican Republic to witness the birth of her grandchild when she was arrested at the airport on an outstanding drug charge in November 2013.
The arresting officer listed Pichardo's gender as female.
Pichardo was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and processed as a woman, then strip-searched, the report states.
As a precaution due to her history of high blood pressure, Pichardo was taken to a medical unit to be examined. A nurse noted she had been taking hormone pills and asked her whether she was a man.
Despite Pichardo's denials, the nurse added this note to her file: "Transgender, male parts, female tendencies.”
Pichardo was then transferred to the all-male jail Metro West Detention Center.
After the case was initially thrown out by a judge, the report states that an appeals court ruled the conduct of the nurse and doctor amounts to “deliberate indifference."
Editor's Note: The story was first brought to light by the Miami Herald and later covered by Asbury Park Press, with whom 10News has a partnership through USA TODAY. Read the Miami Herald's in-depth coverage of the case here.
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