Michigan prison guards filmed inmate giving birth, lawsuit alleges

(FOX 2) - A federal complaint filed against Michigan prison officials alleges an inmate's privacy was violated when they recorded her giving birth while in custody.

Natalie Forrest alleges multiple employees with the Michigan Department of Corrections were present in the delivery room with body cameras recording during exams, labor, and the birth of her son. 

Eight individuals were named in a civil complaint filed in the U.S. District Court.

Forrest was incarcerated at the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility after being sentenced for possession of a controlled substance offense. 

Michigan inmate gives birth

The backstory:

Forrest gave birth to her son at Trinity Health Ann Arbor Hospital in March of 2025 while in custody, according to the complaint. 

In addition to her mother being present, MDOC corrections officers were also stationed in the hospital room. During her time in the hospital, the guard's body-worn cameras collected both sound and video of Forrest while "she was unclothed or in a state of undress."

Two defendants stationed inside the room both wore body-worn cameras on their chests and were positioned toward Forrest's hospital bed. 

According to the suit, Forrest's genitals, buttocks, and breasts were exposed and recorded by the guard's body-worn cameras.

The defendants

Local perspective:

The defendants named in the suit are:

• Vicky Barksdale
• Robert Robbins
• Tyesha Holman
• Jeannine Street
• Jalen Malloy
• Jeremy Howard
• Jeremy Bush
• Heidi Washington

Barksdale and Robbins were both in the hospital room when Forrest gave birth, the lawsuit states. Street and Malloy were also present during other hospital appointments where Forrest was in a state of undress.

The lawsuit claims their body-worn cameras were also on during the visits.

The lawsuit alleges Holman conducted a strip search of Forrest inside the hospital room before she returned to the prison.

Also named in the suit are Howard, who is the prison's warden, and two staff directors at the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Body-worn camera policy

Dig deeper:

The prison policy for body-worn cameras allowed the cameras be worn while operating in passive mode during strip searches. However, staff at the prison also received communication outlining the practice as illegal. 

Prison staff defended allowing body-worn footage to be collected during strip searches. 

Lawmakers also communicated to the prison about prohibiting recording during strip searches, eventually leading to a reversal of prison policy on March 24.

Data collected by body-worn cameras includes both audio and visual data that can be retrieved up to 18 hours after it was shot.

The lawsuit alleges that MDOC policy for recording with body-worn cameras does not include "the recording of incarcerated women’s bodies during childbirth, medical care, or routine states of undress."

Counts

Big picture view:

The offenses alleged include:

• Fourth Amendment violations involving unreasonable observation and recording of Forrest.
• Fourth Amendment violations involving observation and recording of J.F.
• First Amendment retaliation or prior restraint based on the alleged threat against Larson.
• Fourteenth Amendment bodily-privacy claims on behalf of J.F.
• Eighth Amendment cruel-and-unusual-punishment claims on behalf of Forrest.
• Failure-to-intervene claims against officers who allegedly witnessed the conduct.
• Supervisory-liability claims against MDOC officials who allegedly knew about the recording practices and allowed them to continue.
• Michigan state-law claims for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Crime and Public SafetyWashtenaw County