A former corrections officer at the Beaver County Jail in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against Beaver County on Jan. 8.
Titus Shields claims that he was fired after reporting the treatment of Black inmates and himself by other corrections officers.
According to the lawsuit, Shields moved to the county from California in search of a better life, only to “endure horrific racism” while employed at the Beaver County Jail. The complaint alleges that Shields was called the N-word, and his car was vandalized before he was fired in October 2022.
Shields began working at the jail in February 2022. The lawsuit states that Shields was forced to work in “a hostile environment” after he reported the racial abuse suffered by Black inmates of the jail and that the county “discriminated against him due to his race, complaints of race discrimination, and reports of wrongdoing.”
The former corrections officer said he was given “positive feedback” during his probationary period until he began reporting about the discrimination against Black inmates at the jail. Shields revealed one incident where an officer removed an inmate’s mattress and bedding during freezing weather with cold air blowing into his cell. The inmate was placed in a restraint chair without explanation and forced to sleep on a metal bed frame for approximately eight days.
Another inmate was also strapped to the restraint chair as several officers assaulted him, and after one officer questioned if the abuse was excessive force, Sgt. Decanini said, “What excessive force? It’s part of your job, dude!” the complaint describes. Shields said he was reporting the abuse, and Decanini yelled, “Do it! Do you think anybody really cares? What do you think you are going to change something? You’re not!”
Another inmate whose bedding was taken without cause for an entire month stayed awake all night to avoid the cold, which eventually “caused his legs to swell and start to burst with blood and blisters.”
Shields claims that when he made complaints about the abuse and said he no longer felt safe, Deputy Warden White told Shields to “get over it. It’s not about you.” Shields was also allegedly told by a Sgt. Harris, who is Black, “Yes, it is very racist here” and “You have got to watch your back.” Harris also told Shields, “These people do a lot of dirt and can get away with it. So just keep your head down, and you will be all right.”
The warden also told Shields, “You are going to have to find some way to deal with it, or you’re going to lose your job.”
The filing details how another inmate told Shields that he was contemplating suicide, and after Shields notified Decanini, he was berated for wasting his time.
Following the complaints, Shields says he was harassed by his co-workers. His car was vandalized with the N-word scratched into it, and he once found his lunch with “spit and snot” in it. Shields says he also found notes with racial slurs and chewing tobacco “spit into his locker.” He claims he was also threatened with physical violence by Officer Hickman, who threatened to “kick his ass.”
Hickman also shared Shields’ full name and address with inmates as well as his social media pages, the complaint says. After complaining about Hickman’s treatment, Shields was assigned to train under Hickman and told he was racist.
In a video Shields shared on YouTube exposing the jail, he recalled an inmate telling him about racial slurs he was taunted with, including “porch monkey” and “under-sized N-word.” The inmate was also told, “I can find you a banana,” when he asked about his meal. Shields also claimed he was asked to starve and torture inmates.
Shields was fired in October 2022 and filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in February 2023. In his lawsuit, Shields is seeking wage loss damages, including back pay and front pay, as well as compensatory and punitive damages. Shields is also asking for costs and attorneys’ fees.
