COCONINO COUNTY, Ariz. — Epona Rose, 33, alleges while she was in custody of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office this month, jail officials mistreated her because she is transgender.
“They were trying to make me behave as a man. I am not a man,” Rose said after her release on bond Monday.
Sheriff’s officials deny any wrongdoing, although they acknowledge there was initial confusion during Rose’s booking.
Charges warranted visual strip search
Earlier this month, a Coconino County Grand Jury indicted Rose for two counts of felony assault. Rose allegedly attacked two men at a popular Flagstaff gathering spot, wounding one man on the hand with a knife. Rose said the men harassed her because she is trans and she acted in self-defense.
Sheriff’s officials said during the booking process they noted that Rose’s I.D. stated she is female but the arresting officer listed her as male on paperwork.
“Per our policy, the severity of the charges … warranted a visual strip search,” said Commander Matthew Figueroa of CCSO Detention Services in an email to 12News. “We needed to make sure we had the same sex officer conduct the search … We asked the individual multiple times during the booking process what genitalia do they have because they would not answer the question.”
Rose was placed in administrative segregation
Figueroa said all inmates undergo the same classification process during booking.
“We house males with males and females with females. This individual self-disclosed they were transgender so for safety and security reasons we placed this person under administrative segregation,” Figueroa said.
Rose said she requested to be housed with female inmates. Federal guidelines require prison and jail officials to house “transgender or intersex” inmates on a “case-by-case basis” with the “inmate’s health and safety” taken into consideration.
Inmate advocates say although segregation can provide security it also deprives the inmate of equal participation in daily routines.
Rose also claims during the first week of segregation she was denied regular privileges like access to a TV and the library.
Asked about that claim, Figueroa said on Monday Rose was currently receiving the same access as all inmates. 12News followed up and asked CCSO if it was possible Rose was previously denied equal access to accommodations. As of Thursday evening, CCSO had not responded.
Some agencies making more accommodations
Lawsuits and legislation across the country have prompted some agencies to make more accommodations for transgender prisoners.
A prison inmate in Minnesota became the first trans woman in that state to be scheduled for placement with the female prison population after her attorneys reached a settlement this summer. In California, a 2020 law allowed transgender women to request transfers to the women’s facilities. As of last year, the state had granted about 10% of the requests, according to the National Review.
Arizona state prisons report having 167 transgender inmates
The Arizona state prison system houses 167 transgender inmates, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, Arizona’s largest county jail system, houses 18 transgender inmates, according to a statement released to 12News Thursday. Both agencies told 12News they follow federal guidelines of the Prison Rape Elimination Act regarding treatment and housing of transgender inmates.
According to a five-page policy guide, the state has a committee to address LGBTQI issues in prisons. The guide requires gender-affirming health care, grooming and hygiene accommodations, and safety risk screenings for transgender inmates. Prison officials are also required to ask transgender inmates “their own view of how they would be most safely housed, including male versus female housing.”
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