A transgender woman arrested during the anti-police riots in Baltimore was detained Wednesday in an all-male holding facility. She was released Friday.
According to an Advocate.com report, Deairra Venable, 30, was originally booked as female, but when central booking authorities discovered she was trans, she was transferred to an all-male facility, Venable’s lawyer, Astrid Munn of Seddiq Law, told the news site. Her degradation continued as she was allegedly forced to remove her bra by officials and left to wear a shirt that clearly outlined her breasts and nipples, was repeatedly misgendered and “harassed” by officials, and mocked by the jail commissioner who stated “you don’t look like a man” during her bail hearing.
The woman’s bail was originally set at $75,000, but was pushed up to $100,000 shortly thereafter, reported Mashable though she was charged with fourth-degree burglary, a misdemeanor. She earns about $300 a week in a salon and is also on public assistance.
The woman was near a clothing store on Pennsylvania Avenue, in the midst of Monday night’s riots, when looting began. According to Munn, the woman was recording video on her phone during Monday’s chaos when police swooped her up in a mass arrest of 14 people.
Understandably if she is pr-eop, concerns about putting her in the women’s section is also valid, however under no circumstances should she have been in the men’s either. This is why jails need to follow the LAPD model and set up a trans section for those incarcerated. She was seriously violated and needs to be made whole. How is she being charged with burglary without any evidence of same?