Former inmate beaten, left paralyzed by gang members in Baltimore jail to receive $7 million settlement
BALTIMORE -- A former inmate beaten and left paralyzed by gang members in a Baltimore City jail nearly a decade ago will be getting a multimillion-dollar settlement from the state.
The Attorney General's Office recommended a $7 million settlement Wednesday for Daquan Wallace, saying there was "plenty of negligence" by correctional officers in his 2014 beating.
Daquan Wallace, now 28 years old, has only limited use of his left hand.
He was attacked at the old Baltimore Detention Center, his attorney says, for not joining the Black Guerrilla Family.
"He refused to join a gang," attorney Larry Greenberg said.
Greenberg alleges correctional officers conspired with the gang to set up the attack, leaving Wallace alone and unprotected in an unlocked cell.
"The cell door was opened up. Two gang members came in," Greenberg said. "They beat him, left him for dead, had smashed his head up against the wall."
The State's Board of Public works Wednesday approved the $7 million settlement for Wallace and his family.
The money will come out of the general fund, to the frustration of the state's treasurer.
"We need this money, but instead, we're paying it out for improper, unacceptable behavior," Maryland State Treasure Dereck Davis said.
Corrections Secretary Carolyn Scruggs said none of the officers involved were disciplined at the time and all have since retired.
"We are actually disciplining people at all levels, from counseling to suspension to termination, based on inappropriate actions," Scruggs said.
Scruggs said these incidents have spurred expanded background checks and additional training.
"He has texted multiple people indicating, 'I just want his life back,' and today is a step in the right direction to get his life back," Greenberg said.
The jail was shut down in 2015, just months after Wallace's beating. Demolition began in 2019.
Detainees are now held at neighboring facilities.