Guards at Kansas detention center used racist slurs against Hispanic people: Lawsuit

A corrections officer at the now-closed Leavenworth Detention Center was subjected to racist slurs and other demeaning language by other employees, according to a federal lawsuit filed this week.

Wilfredo Carrasquillo, who is Hispanic, started working for CoreCivic at the federal jail in Leavenworth in May 2021. He had over a decade of security experience and passed a screening test, physical exam and tactical exam.

During a training class, a co-worker said “that Hispanic people cannot comprehend things,” the lawsuit said. Guards used a racist slur against Hispanic people many times, the lawsuit continued, and Carrasquillo was harassed in the parking lot on several occasions. One guard allegedly told him not to park near him and another flung spit in his face.

He filed written complaints with human resources, but the for-profit prison company “ignored every incident,” the lawsuit said.

Carrasquillo also said that white employees were allowed privileges that he was denied. When he asked for time off to pick up a prescription to treat diabetes he was denied, but other employees were allowed to leave early or arrive late, the lawsuit said.

When a CPR test was administered, CoreCivic claimed Carrasquillo had failed. During a second test, an instructor read multiple choice questions, Carrasquillo answered and the instructor marked the response. The lawsuit said he did not have a chance to review the answers and was told he had failed the test. Carrasquillo, who was 49 years old at the time, was terminated.

He filed a complaint with the Kansas Human Rights Commission, which determined he had a right to sue in February.

The federal lawsuit was filed in the District of Kansas and lists CoreCivic as a defendant. The complaint includes claims of discrimination based on race, age and disability as well as retaliation from before the detention center closed.

Ryan Gustin, a spokesman for Tennessee-based CoreCivic, said the company does not comment on active or pending litigation, but its policies prohibit harassment and discrimination based on race, age or any other protected classification.

“We believe the diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments our company has made positively impact the quality of our operations, increase employee engagement, and support a culture of dignity and respect,” he said in a statement to The Star.

In January 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order eliminating the use of privately operated detention facilities.

The Leavenworth Detention Center transferred prisoners out of the facility, sending men to the nearby U.S. Penitentiary in Leavenworth and women to state and local jails, the U.S. Marshals Service said in January 2022. It is listed as “inactive” on CoreCivic’s website.

While the facility was open, it had been the subject of many concerns including dangerous understaffing, routine violence and suicides. It also paid out $1.45 million in 2019 after phone calls between prisoners and their attorneys were illegally recorded.

The Star’s Bill Lukitsch contributed to this story.