15 inmates sue San Bernardino County over alleged equal protection rights violation

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (KABC) -- Fifteen former and current inmates at the West Valley Detention Center are suing San Bernardino County in federal court over violation of equal protection rights.

Dan McKibben says he endured verbal abuse and discrimination at the hands of his jailers during the 44 days he spent at a detention center in Rancho Cucamonga, and he says it was all because of his sexual orientation.

McKibben and the 14 other plaintiffs allege that their constitutional rights to equal protection were violated during their incarceration.

"They talk to us like we're less than human," McKibben said. "We're treated entirely differently. There's more attention paid to us when there's nothing happening, when on the other side of the general population, there's fights breaking out."

The class-action lawsuit, filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, also alleges that gay or bisexual inmates who are in kept apart from the jail's general population are denied access to services and rehabilitation programs.

"I want to see a change," said Peter Guzman. He spent seven months in the jail's Alternative Lifestyle Housing Unit. "Because I identify myself as being gay, they put you in the cell, you stay in that cell for 23 hours a day, and that is it. You can't work, you can't do anything, because they say it's for your safety. When in reality, it's not even for safety, it's more of a punishment."

The ACLU and attorneys for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit say what's happening at the jail is essentially institutionalized discrimination against gay inmates.

"Once you segregate them, you need to provide them with the same programs, and the same time out of their cells, and the same rehabilitation opportunities as straight inmates," said attorney Dave McLane.

In general, gay or transgender inmates are often kept in separate areas to protect them from abuse by other inmates. But the ACLU alleges that West Valley's policies are retaliatory.

"What we've seen is an apparent practice by jail officials to intentionally discriminate against gay inmates," said McLean.

The lawsuit seeks to change the jail's policies. A spokeswoman for San Bernardino County says they still have not been served with the legal paperwork and the county had no comment on the allegations made in the lawsuit.