MIAMI — A former employee of the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Metro West Detention Center has filed suit claiming he was discriminated against and put in harm's way while working at the center.
Antonio Byrd filed suit on Nov. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Miami Division, against Miami-Dade County alleging a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Federal Rehabilitation Act and Civil Rights Act. He is seeking compensatory damages and attorneys' fees.
Byrd says he was attacked by an inmate with psychiatric problems in February, leading to six weeks of medical leave. He suffered a fractured finger and anxiety, insomnia and depression "that substantially impacts his physical and mental states while he is in his workplace," the lawsuit says.
Byrd claims the assailant was improperly placed at the facility, a general problem that he had previously raised with his superiors.
In June 2016, he "repeatedly addressed classification issues" with his lieutenant and staff alike at the detention center, including the facility's failure to address the problems of psychiatric inmates, the lawsuit says.
The county "failed to properly train the employees in the appropriate methods, proper procedures, and protocols with respect to accommodating his disability," it alleges.
On multiple occasions, Byrd had inmates sent for mental evaluation due to "aggressive or abnormal behaviors" only for the inmates to be returned back to general population once again, the lawsuit claims.
When Byrd returned from medical leave, he claims, "the misclassification of the psychiatric inmates grew even worse."
In April, Byrd filed complaints with the Internal Affairs Unit and various agencies to document the retaliation and discrimination by the detention center.