Two nurses filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Wayne County’s troubled juvenile jail, alleging they were fired for exposing misconduct and numerous violations of state and federal law.
The lawsuit filed in Wayne County Circuit Court last week claims the William Dickerson Detention Facility in Hamtramck is a danger to the youths held there.
Nurses Tanzy Huddleston and Shermanstine Morrow said they were fired in retaliation for reporting a range of “blatant” violations, from distributing expired medications to failing to have adequate medical supplies.
The lawsuit, filed by Barton Law, LLC, and the Webster Law Office, alleges the facility is run by callous leaders who created “a sinister culture of fear.”
“After meticulously documenting these horrors and reporting them, the facility responded with a chilling campaign of harassment against our clients,” attorney Darnell Barton said in a statement. “These nurses were merely trying to fulfill their professional and ethical duty of care to protect these vulnerable children, yet they were vilified as if they were the wrongdoers.”
On Sept. 2, Huddleston said she requested help because a juvenile inmate could not breathe and was having chest pains. One of the facility’s nurses was dismissive and later said, “I’m tired of these miserable motherfuckers,” according to the lawsuit.
One of the juveniles was so desperate to escape the unit that he harmed himself, the suit alleges.
The facility came under fire earlier this year for “deplorable” and “inhumane” conditions. Faced with overcrowding, the facility has been accused of confining juveniles to rooms for a lengthy period of time, denying them daily showers, medications, schooling, and recreation.
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