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Criminal: Transgender Woman Spurs Reform In D.C. Jail System

Illustration for Criminal podcast
Julienne Alexander
/
yssrs.com

In 2009, Patti Hammond Shaw was arrested for assault in Washington D.C.  When she arrived at the police station, she was placed in a holding section with male inmates.  Shaw protested, but it did no good.

Shaw is a transgender woman. Her story is the subject of the latest episode of Criminal, a podcast produced in the studios of WUNC and hosted by Phoebe Judge.  

Here's how Shaw describes herself.

"I'm 5'7". I'm thick. I'm very attractive, like Jill Scott and Chaka Khan, a combo of those two," said Shaw. "A very strong woman. Very independent. Very cautious of who I allow in my circle."

The day of the arrest in 2009, Shaw was at her D.C. apartment with a man who lived with her. They got into a fight, and she was arrested for assault. When she arrived at the station, the police insisted she was male.

Back in the early 1980s, Patti Hammond Shaw was arrested, but her gender then was listed as male. The D.C. police department uses a database called PDID to record information for everyone who has been through the system. It includes basic facts like name, date of birth and gender. 

Because of that previous record as a male, Shaw was detained in a men's cell block.  

"They made me take off my clothes," Shaw said. "They made me be the first one. The rest of the other guys were in another part of the cell. Then they searched between my legs, told me to open my legs."

After that, Shaw was verbally assaulted for hours, threatened by the men waiting to be charged. She also said officers treated her terribly and refused to listen to her.

Eventually Shaw's charges were dropped. The man she was charged with assaulting didn't even show up to court. With her charges gone, Shaw went on the offensive and sued the city and police department and won.

"There was financial compensation, but the most important thing is she was able to start reforms for this PDID system, which (now) says your gender can be changed," Judge said. "If this ever happens again, hopefully it won't be a problem."

To find out more, visit thisiscriminal.com. Also, you can hear the latest episode of Criminal on WUNC on Sunday evening at 5:40 p.m.

Phoebe Judge is an award-winning journalist whose work has been featured on a numerous national radio programs. She regularly conducts interviews and anchors WUNC's broadcast of Here & Now. Previously, Phoebe served as producer, reporter and guest host for the nationally distributed public radio program The Story. Earlier in her career, Phoebe reported from the gulf coast of Mississippi. She covered the BP oil spill and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for Mississippi Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio. Phoebe's work has won multiple Edward R. Murrow and Associated Press awards. Phoebe was born and raised in Chicago and is graduate of Bennington College and the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.
Eric Hodge hosts WUNC’s broadcast of Morning Edition, and files reports for the North Carolina news segments of the broadcast. He started at the station in 2004 doing fill-in work on weekends and All Things Considered.
Rebecca Martinez produces podcasts at WUNC. She’s been at the station since 2013, when she produced Morning Edition and reported for newscasts and radio features. Rebecca also serves on WUNC’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accountability (IDEA) Committee.
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