By Judy Harrison
Bangor Daily News
BANGOR, Maine — A gay former prison guard settled her civil rights discrimination lawsuit against the Maine Department of Corrections for an undisclosed amount Friday, according to information posted on the U.S. District Court website.
Kristin A. King, 53, of Jonesboro sued the DOC and her former supervisor Sgt. David Garrison in May 2013 after she was fired from her position at the Downeast Correctional Facility in Machiasport. King said in her suit that she was disciplined differently than her male counterparts on the job and then fired, all based on her status as a gay woman, and sought back pay and unspecified damages for emotional distress.
A jury trial was to have started Monday in U.S. District Court but was canceled after the settlement was reached.
“Correctional officers that worked alongside Kristin have testified that her supervisor, defendant Sgt. David Garrison, and most of her male co-workers regularly made slurs about Ms. King’s sex and sexual orientation because they did not like lesbians in general and did not think women should be working at [the facility] as correctional officers; and that they created a hostile work environment for her, including mocking her intelligence and size, denying her normal backups and support and targeting her for higher standards and more discipline than her coworkers,” her attorney, David Webbert of Augusta, wrote in his trial brief, filed Thursday.
The DOC and Garrison said in their trial brief that King, who worked at the prison from 2004 to 2011, was fired because of “repeated inmate count errors.”
Inmate counts during the time King worked at the prison were recorded by correctional officers every hour from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and every 30 minutes from 10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m., Assistant Attorney General Kelly Morrell, who represents the DOC, said in her trial brief, filed Thursday.
“Accurate inmate counts are crucial for the safety of both inmates and staff,” she said. “Nothing has the potential to be a greater problem than the inaccurate counts of inmates because the security staff must know who is present at the facility at all times. The shift commander reviews the logbook for completeness and accuracy when making his rounds during each shift. In addition, one correctional officer may discover errors made by a fellow correctional officer if their counts do not match.”
Morrell also said in her brief that King has not worked since she was fired but did collect unemployment. Since January 2015, when she became a full-time student, King “has failed to satisfy her ongoing obligation to mitigate her damages” and has refused to accept full-time employment while in school.
Efforts to reach Webbert on Monday morning about the settlement were unsuccessful.
Morrell declined to comment on the settlement Monday because the final agreement still is being drafted.
The amount awarded King in the settlement will be made public under the state’s Freedom of Access Act. It most likely will be released in a month after the judge dismisses the lawsuit.
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