Amber Canter pushing to protect transgender inmates after brutal beating at Baltimore's Central Booking

Amber Canter's beating six years ago at Baltimore's Central Booking was captured on camera and led to a $750,000 settlement with the state of Maryland. 

For the first time, she is speaking about the trauma and her concern for transgender inmates. 

Beating caught on camera 

In June 2019, security cameras showed an officer at the state-run correctional facility place Canter in a chokehold.

She passed out, and he dragged her limp body into another room and threw her to the ground. 

"I have a lot of migraines, a lot of nightmares," Canter said.

She said at the time she felt like she was going to die. 

Canter has since seen the video of what happened and said it was painful to watch. She suffered bone fractures and internal bleeding, and said she was not given immediate medical care. 

"I try to sit back and put myself in his shoes — like, what was going through his mind — or what was going through the correctional supervisors' minds," Canter said. "And the sad reality is the lack of training. Society sees only what the state wants them to see. They don't see what goes on behind razor wire."

She said the first part of the healing process was forgiveness. 

"They have more power over you if you're holding hatred than what you do just letting it go and releasing the power that they hold," Canter said. "And that's what happened with me when I forgave. The power was just released from them, and that was the time I could start focusing on myself to heal."

Canter, who is transgender, said she was also called slurs. 

It took a civil lawsuit and more than five years before Maryland approved a settlement worth $750,000.

The state did not admit wrongdoing. 

For Canter, it was not about the money but about making conditions better for others. 

"It was something that went in front of the Board of Public Works, and it became public," she said. "And there was a lot of negative reaction from citizens, but they're not understanding that that's the only option that corrections is offering to prison lawsuits." 

Transgender inmates in Maryland 

There are a little more than 100 transgender people incarcerated in Maryland's correctional system. 

They make up just a fraction of the more than 17,000 inmates in the state. But last year, trans inmates accounted for 38% of the money that Maryland taxpayers paid to settle claims. 

A report to the General Assembly put it bluntly: "Transgender individuals in the prison system are subject to high rates of violence and sexual abuse from both correctional officers and fellow inmates. There have been numerous settlements over the years following incidents of violence, sexual assault, harassment and unwarranted use of solitary confinement." 

Corrections officials promised lawmakers during a budget hearing earlier this year that they would improve training and safety measures — including hiring an expert to address concerns of LGBTQ inmates. 

Canter's case helped establish inmates with gender dysphoria as a protected class under the Americans with Disabilities Act, giving them grounds to file a lawsuit if they are not accommodated. She credits her lawyers, Malcom Ruff and Billy Murphy. 

"It wasn't until Malcom's case that it gained a lot of spotlight, and it made a lot of people look," Canter said. 

Canter spoke to WJZ at NuWave, a center in Northwest Baltimore where she was undergoing treatment for the trauma she suffered. 

"A lot of programs in Maryland are not accepting to the LGBTQ community, and this facility, all the staff is very respectful, and they treat you like family, not like a client," Canter said. "It's genuineness here and you feel like they're not just here for a job."

NuWave's Dr. Judy Sheppard said of Canter, "We truly believe that one voice can change the trajectory of someone's life. Amber proved that by using her voice to speak up for the injustices in the prison system."

And she's not done talking. 

"Not a lot of people have the courage to do some of the things I've done in order to bring about change," Canter said. "I wasn't looking for any monetary relief. I was looking for prison reform."

On her future, Canter told WJZ, "This is a very long road. This is just the beginning." 

In a report released on October 1 on the treatment of transgender inmates in Maryland, corrections officials stated, "Maintaining safety and respecting the dignity of every incarcerated individual at the Department of Public Safety Correctional Services facilities is paramount."