5 Southern California Jail Inmates Awarded $740,000 in Force Suit

November 12, 2013

A federal jury has awarded $740,000 to inmates who suffered broken bones when guards put down a Los Angeles County jail protest.

City News Service reported five inmates were granted the money in an excessive-force lawsuit. The jury considers additional punitive damages this week.

The inmates were protesting conditions at the Men’s Central Jail in 2008 when some barricaded themselves in their cells.

The lawsuit says sheriff’s deputies beat and brutalized the inmates, causing injuries ranging up to skull fractures.

The deputies argued they were trying to defend themselves from rioters. KPCC radio said some inmates tossed pieces of broken sink at deputies, started fires and flooded their cells before the clash.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore says the agency will comment once the case is over.

Topics Lawsuits California

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