They were stunned with Tasers while delivering meals to other inmates, their attorneys said, causing trays of food to splatter on the floor. They were held at gunpoint while deputies jerked their handcuffed wrists above their heads in a move called “chicken winging.”
They were awakened in the dead of night, the “Cops” TV show theme blasting over the loud speaker.
For years, the attorneys said, dozens of inmates in protective custody at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga were tortured by a group of rogue deputies seeking “street justice,” often against accused sex offenders, gangsters or informants.
Now, 32 current and former inmates will receive $2.5 million as part of a settlement agreement in five federal lawsuits against San Bernardino County and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, which operates the jail. On Tuesday, under the terms of the settlement, the lawsuits were dismissed.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.