Correctional officer files discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against Prince George's County

Complaint alleges officer was singled out for discipline after filing formal complaint of racial discrimination against her supervisor.

UPPER MARLBORO, MD, UNITED STATES, March 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A Prince George's County correctional officer has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the County and two individual officers, alleging race discrimination, sex discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment following her formal complaint of racial discrimination.

The complaint was filed on March 9, 2026, in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County by civil rights law firm Justly Prudent on behalf of correctional officer Keisha Hudson. The lawsuit names Prince George's County, Captain Avery Johnson, and Sergeant Tamara Johnson as defendants.

According to the filing, Hudson submitted a formal discrimination and harassment complaint on June 4, 2025, after a fellow officer disclosed that Sergeant Tamara Johnson's negative treatment of Hudson was motivated by Hudson's light skin complexion. The complaint alleges that retaliation followed shortly after Hudson submitted the complaint.

According to the filing, on July 21, 2025, just six days after Hudson's complaint was forwarded to the Office of Professional Responsibility and Legal Affairs for investigation, the Department issued a disciplinary charge against Hudson for an incident that had occurred on March 23, 2025—nearly four months earlier. The complaint states that no disciplinary action had been initiated during the four months between the March 23rd incident and the submission of Hudson's discrimination complaint.

Four officers, including Hudson, were charged with the same offense in connection with the same March 23rd incident. A three-day Administrative Hearing Board was convened in November 2025 to adjudicate the charges. The Hearing Board was chaired by Captain Avery Johnson, who is identified in the complaint as a personal friend of Sergeant Tamara Johnson, the subject of Hudson's discrimination complaint. The complaint further alleges that another Board member, Lieutenant Rodriguez, was also a known friend of Sergeant Tamara Johnson.

The complaint states that three of the four officers charged were acquitted, while Hudson was the only officer found guilty. According to the complaint, one Board member subsequently disclosed that he voted to acquit Hudson but was told by the Board Chairman that his vote did not count, and another Board member was reportedly pressured to change his vote.

Court documents state that on December 17, 2025, the Department imposed a 10-day suspension without pay on Hudson, with an additional 10 days held in abeyance.

The complaint further alleges that Hudson was subjected to an ongoing pattern of hostile treatment following the submission of her discrimination complaint on June 4, 2025. This treatment, according to the complaint, included consistently negative performance evaluations from Sergeant Tamara Johnson, selective enforcement of appearance standards, and the strategic placement of associates of Sergeant Johnson in supervisory positions over Hudson.

The lawsuit brings twelve counts under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act, and the Prince George's County Code. The complaint seeks back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, expungement of disciplinary records, and institutional reforms to the Department's hearing board procedures.

Prince George's County, Captain Avery Johnson, and Sergeant Tamara Johnson have not yet filed responses to the complaint.

The case is Keisha Hudson v. Prince George's County, MD, et al., filed in the Circuit Court for Prince George's County, Maryland (Case No. C-16-CV-26-001330).

Lars Kroner
Justly Prudent
+1 202-921-6080
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