Inmates who allege they were forced to fight each other for the amusement of San Francisco Sheriff's Deputies will be on the receiving end of a $90,000 settlement after the Board of Supervisors moves to approve the payout today. Bay City News reports that three inmates will split the money evenly, perhaps bringing some closure to the bizarre Fight Club-style battles that made national headlines.
Civil rights attorney John Burris brought the case on behalf of inmates Stanley Harris, Ricardo Palikiko-Garcia, and Keith Dwayne Richardson. The men say deputies took away their food and made them gamble to get it back, in addition to forcing them to fight.
CBS 5 reports that the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has charged the three deputies with a host of crimes, with perhaps the most severe reserved for now-former deputy Scott Neu, including "assault under the color of authority, issuing criminal threats, inflicting cruel and unusual punishment and inhumanity against inmates in his care."
According to CBS 5, Eugene Jones was charged with "assault under the color of authority, inflicting cruel and unusual punishment and willfully failing to perform an official duty," and Clifford Chiba was charged with "inflicting cruel and unusual punishment and willfully failing to perform an official duty."
It should be noted that this was not the first time a troubling accusation had been levied against Neu. In 2006 the city settled out of court after it was alleged he forced inmates to perform sexual acts on him.
All three deputies pleaded "not guilty" to the charges back in March, and they are currently out on bail.
Previously: Sheriff's Deputies Who Allegedly Forced Inmates To Fight Plead Not Guilty