Ron Settles (June 12, 1959 – June 2, 1981) was a California State University, Long Beach and Banning High School[1] football player who was arrested by the Signal Hill Police Department in 1981 then died while in police custody.[2]
 | |
| Long Beach State 49ers – No. 35 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Running back |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | June 12, 1959 Los Angeles, California |
| Died: | June 2, 1981 (aged 21) Signal Hill, California |
| Career history | |
| College | Long Beach State (1977−1980) |
| High school | Los Angeles (CA) Banning |
The morning after his arrest, Settles was found severely beaten. Police officers claimed they found Settles hanging in his jail cell from a noose created from a mattress cover, from which they cut him down. However, police elected not to take photographic evidence of the hanging and instead only took pictures of Settles on the floor. Also officers refused to testify—pleading the fifth, in what continues to appear to some to have been a conspiratorial 'smokescreen' or cover-up of police brutality. In 1981, a jury in a Los Angeles coroner's inquest ruled that Settles had died 'at the hands of another, other than by accident'.[3]
A furor erupted afterwards about the nature of his death, as the police said the death was a suicide. No one was prosecuted for Settles' death,[4] but the City of Signal Hill did pay a $1 million settlement to the family.[1]
The case had long-term impacts on the reputation of Signal Hill, although a new police chief took steps to reform the police department.[5] The case was an early high-profile case handled by attorney Johnnie Cochran, who represented the family;[6] one of the policemen implicated in the incident was also represented by another noted civil rights attorney, Stephen Yagman.[1][7]
Settles’ death was one of several highly controversial deaths of arrestees in the 1970s and 1980s that changed the way police departments deal with prisoners. Many of them now videotape jail areas and any time a police officer or correction officer touches a prisoner in a restraining way, a report is required to be written. These measures are intended to decrease the chances of police brutality in prison cells.[citation needed]
Settles' story was told by Dr. Michael Baden on HBO's series Autopsy.[8] Charles Burnett's 1995 film The Glass Shield was based, in part, on the Settles case.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c Cummings, Judith (January 14, 1983). "Suit Over Football Player's Death in Coast Jail Settled for $1 Million". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
- ^ Harris, Peter (November 27, 1982). "Countersuit by cop seems to invite scorn". The Afro-American.
- ^ "Long Beach State football star Ron Settles died, not..." September 2, 1981.
- ^ Cummings, Judith (January 15, 1982). "No Charges in Grid Star's Death, Prosecutor Says". The New York Times.
- ^ Wride, Nancy (January 7, 2002). "Rebirth of Signal Hill". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Landmark Cochran Cases". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. April 18, 2005.
- ^ Tobar, Hector (June 28, 1998). "Spoiling for a fight". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015.
- ^ "Review of The Autopsy Files (1994)". digitallyobsessed.com. July 11, 2005.
- ^ Christon, Lawrence (November 26, 1995). "A Private Peace : Chet Walker is still searching for his 'place' as a Hollywood producer". Los Angeles Times.