Transgender Woman Files Suit After Being Jailed With Men

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — A transgender woman has filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida against the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office after being arrested and placed with male inmates at the Pinellas County Jail.

A home health care worker, Karla Bello, 38, of Gulfport was arrested on a bench warrant in November 2019 after missing a court date for unpaid traffic tickets.

While being processed into jail, she said she told corrections officers that she identified as a trans woman.

Nevertheless, she was placed in the male unit of the jail where she remained for 11 days because she said she was going through some financial difficulties and couldn't afford to post $513 bail. The Pinellas County arrest report lists Bello's gender as male.

Bello said the corrections officers' refusal to acknowledge her gender identity violated her civil rights and exposed her to ridicule and the risk of violence from the male inmates.

“They stripped me of my identity. Even though the whole world knows me as Karla, calls me 'miss,' they wanted to label me male, and they called me ‘sir,’" Bello said during an interview accompanied by her attorney, Rook Elizabeth Ringer of the Lento Law Group.

Moreover, she said she was denied access to the hormone medication she takes to treat gender dysphoria.

"It was very painful to have to endure that,” she said.

Bello said she began having chest pains, suicidal thoughts and became depressed. She said the experience was so traumatic, she ended up admitting herself to a psychiatric hospital.

“Pinellas County’s treatment of Ms. Bello is not only shocking, and as we believe, unlawful, but it shows the continuing prejudice transgender people face in Florida and across the United States,” said Ringer. “Hopefully these kinds of lawsuits will force other law enforcement agencies to treat people with dignity.”

The lawsuit accuses Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and 15 corrections officers of discrimination and subjecting Bello to cruel and unusual punishment.

Bello is seeking $200,000 in damages due to the mental distress she suffered and is asking that the county implement policies to protect transgender inmates.

She said she wants justice not only for herself but for other transgender women that might have the same experience.

The sheriff's office has a policy against commenting on ongoing litigation.