Deon Jones speaks about D.C. Department of Corrections bias lawsuit settlement

Deon Jones said he is satisfied with the outcome of his anti-gay bias lawsuit against the D.C. Department of Corrections. The case ended after five years on February 5, when the D.C. government paid a $500,000 settlement.

The suit, filed on behalf of Mr. Jones by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, D.C., and the international law firm WilmerHale, charges that Mr. Jones, a sergeant in the Department of Corrections, has been subjected to years of discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment because he is gay, in clear violation of the D.C. Human Rights Act.

In a statement released by the ACLU when the settlement was announced, Jones “was subjected to years of abuse and harassment, including anti-gay slurs, threats, and degrading treatment, from his co-workers and incarcerated individuals.”

The statement continued: “The long-term abuse took a serious toll on Mr. Jones’ mental health, causing him to experience depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and 15 anxiety attacks in 2021 alone.

Jones said the harassment and abuse he suffered began in 1993, a year after he first started working for the Department of Corrections, and continued for more than 25 years under six D.C. mayors, including current Mayor Muriel Bowser. He said the mayor had not responded to repeated pleas for help.

While all of those mayors, including Bowser, are outspoken supporters of the LGBTQ community, Jones said they did not intervene to change what he called the homophobic “culture” in the Department of Corrections.

The Department of Corrections, through the D.C. Attorney General’s Office and the Mayor’s Office, which represent city officials in the lawsuit, have so far declined to comment on the lawsuit and the $500,000 settlement the city offered Jones, which Jones accepted.

Among other things, the settlement agreement states that Mr. Jones will be asked to resign from his position with the Department of Corrections. It also declares that “neither the parties’ agreement nor the district government’s offer to settle the case shall be construed in any way as an admission by the district that the district government or its current or former employees committed any wrongdoing with respect to plaintiff or any other person or that plaintiff has any rights.”

Scott Michelman, legal director of the DC ACLU, said this type of disclaimer is typical for parties agreeing to settle such lawsuits. He said the city’s action in paying Jones a $500,000 settlement “speaks louder than words.”

With this as a backdrop, Jones reflected on the settlement in a Feb. 9 interview with the Washington Blade and spoke about his eventful 30-year career as an officer in the D.C. Department of Corrections.

He and Michelman noted that Jones was placed on paid leave in April 2022, one year after filing the suit. Jones told the Blade that one of his future plans is to publish a podcast that specifically highlights the challenges he faced in the Department of Corrections and advocates for LGBTQ rights.

blade: What do you think about this lawsuit settlement that looks very favorable to you?

Jones: That’s great. i am happy. I’m glad I resigned. It’s been a while. It was the worst time ever. And I’ve been an advocate for the community for many years. And stand up not just for your own rights, but for the rights of others in the LGBTQ community.

And now I’m just tired. And my podcast is coming soon. And I will continue to advocate for my community.

blade: Can you tell us a little bit about that and when it starts?

Jones: Once we get into April and everything is over, my podcast will start. That’s Deon’s Chronicle and Reveal. Yes, it’s my own podcast.

blade: Your attorney has reported that you have been on leave since March 2022, so some in the community may be interested in what you have been up to since then. Did he get another job or was he just waiting for this case to be resolved?

Jones: I’ve been waiting for this to be resolved. I couldn’t work. That would be a violation of Washington, D.C. government policies and procedures. So I couldn’t get another job or do anything else.

blade: You mentioned that you are still getting paid even during maternity leave. Were you still able to live with it?

Jones: Yes, it’s done. Yes, sir. I often worked overtime. I oversaw over 250 police officers as a zone deputy over the years. I have also supervised over 25,000 inmates over 30 years.

blade: How many years have you worked in the Department of Corrections?

Jones: It’s been 30 years in total. I started at the Lawton facility. Six facilities — I have worked as director, deputy director, and general affairs. I did it all.

blade: Do you have any other plans besides the podcast?

Jones: Well, just to do a podcast and to write a book and a memoir in the house of pain, the house of shame, which is what I’ve been through. When you start a podcast, it’s going to be a story from Part 1 to Part 4. And it goes all the way back from the Lawton era to the present. It first started with sexual harassment and discrimination in Lawton. In other words, this could not have been a worse time.

blade: So, where did you first start working at Lawton Prison?

Jones: Yes, I was at a central facility, a program agency.

Michelle Mann: For context. As you may remember, the Lawton facility was where D.C. inmates were housed. So it was part of the Washington DC Department of Corrections.

blade: Yes, it was in Lawton, Virginia, right?

Jones: right.

blade: Isn’t that closed, and the main detention facility is now in Washington DC itself?

Jones: yes. It closed in 2001.

blade: I see. And is D.C.’s main prison currently located near the RFK Stadium site?

Jones: Yes, sir. There is also a correctional treatment facility next door.

blade: So does this mean that the harassment and other abuse towards you started when you were working at the Lawton facility?

Jones: at the Lawton Central Facility. And they used to flash me a lot too. When I asked them to flash like the inmates, they flashed. and they [the employees] It was blinking.

blade: What does blinking mean?

Jones: They take out penises and all that stuff. That means the sexual harassment was terrible. And I came out of there. And I continued to defend myself and other people who were said to be being bullied as well.

blade: As far as you can remember, in what year and where did it happen?

Jones: That was in April 1993.

blade: The Mayor’s Office declines to comment on the settlement and payments the city is giving you. But they have always said they have strong policies to protect LGBTQ people without discrimination in government agencies in Washington, D.C. But do you think that was not done in the Department of Corrections?

Jones: That’s the obvious reason. I have had 13 anxiety attacks. It was so blatant. Can you imagine? On the airwaves and walkie-talkies, everyone had a walkie-talkie, the captain, the major and everything else. And then send it to a command center or something. When you finish speaking, someone goes on air and calls you a sissy or a fag.

There were so many complaints that I sent a lot of emails to the mayor asking for help. And they ignored it. They didn’t address the complaint at all. So it’s a bull.

blade: But now that you have filed the lawsuit and received this settlement, do you think changes will be made to protect the rights of other LGBTQ employees?

Jones: I hope so because I have been advocating for the rights of my community. Over the years, I’ve advocated for different things and different services. I also watched the treatment. There’s a lot of abuse against the community over there. And I have taken the stand for many in our community, defending their constitutional rights as I have.

blade: What advice do you have about what the Department of Corrections should do to correct the circumstances that led to your case?

Jones: Well, my advice to departments is that they need to look back at their training. And rules against all forms of discrimination, retaliation, and sexual harassment must be enforced. they need to enforce it. They aren’t forcing it at all. They’re not doing it at all. And this time it was worse than ever. When you get on a walkie talkie, someone is going to call you a fag or a sissy or whatever and do all sorts of bad things. They don’t enforce what they preach. They aren’t forcing it.

blade: Any final comments you would like to make?

Jones: I hope this lawsuit serves as a wake-up call for the department. It also motivates someone else to stand up for their rights. I was lucky to have the ACLU and WilmerHale to protect my constitutional rights. So I’m really happy. So I hope others will stand up for their rights. Because many of the people in the community who worked there were actually scared. Some actually quit under pressure.