By Hannah Saunders
Garnet Smith, a 44-year-old U.S. military veteran has been detained at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma for over nine months, and recently reported to several groups that a guard employed by the GEO Group sexually assaulted him. About Face, the Philippines-U.S. Solidarity Organization (PUSO) Tacoma, and Defend Migrants Alliance are calling for his immediate release, accountability for the sexual assault, and justice for all detainees.
“Garnet described the incident as an aggressive and humiliating violation,” Eric Ard from About Face said.
Smith reported that one GEO Group guard stopped him and four others in his unit for a pat down search as they were walking towards the law library. According to Smith, the guard aggressively groped him and although he reported the assault, staff dismissed him. Smith and several other people in his unit were then handcuffed and forced to experience an invasive strip search.
Originally from Jamaica, Smith joined the Army when he was just 17 years old, and while his years of serving in the U.S. military led to complete disability, he never has received U.S. citizenship. He describes his time at the NWDC as hurtful and dehumanizing. When first detained, Smith had a broken hand and spent months advocating for himself and was repeatedly refused medical care; after receiving an x-ray, the staff finally admitted that his hand was broken and he was in need of care, and he was transported to hospital in chains.
“We demand that Garnet’s habeas is granted, and he is released immediately, that the GEO Group staff who assaulted and neglected him are held accountable, and that all migrants are released from unjust detention,” Marcus Jackson of PUSO Tacoma and the Defend Migrants Alliance said.
As more community members who are being detained come forward, the public is learning that abusive incidents like these are far from few. Several people, including Zahid Chaudhry, was denied medical care while at the NWDC, which worsened his eyesight. He was later released on a habeas corpus ruling, as medical neglect he experienced was proven to have violated his due process rights.
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