Ron Settles (June 12, 1959 – June 2, 1981) was a

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

and Banning High School

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was arrested by the

Signal Hill Police Department A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In s ...

in 1981 then died while in police custody. 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 Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...

. 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'. A furor erupted afterwards about the nature of his death, as the police said the death was a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. No one was prosecuted for Settles' death, but the City of Signal Hill did pay a $1 million settlement to the family. The case had long-term impacts on the reputation of Signal Hill, although a new police chief took steps to reform the police department. The case was an early high-profile case handled by attorney

Johnnie Cochran Johnnie Lee Cochran Jr.Adam Bernstei ''The Washington Post'', March 30, 2005; retrieved April 17, 2006. ( ; October 2, 1937 – March 29, 2005) was an American attorney from California who was involved in numerous civil rights and Police b ...

, who represented the family; one of the policemen implicated in the incident was also represented by another noted civil rights attorney,

Stephen Yagman Stephen Yagman (born December 19, 1944) is an American federal civil rights lawyer, who also handles criminal defense and habeas corpus matters. He has a reputation for being an exceptionally zealous advocate in cases regarding allegations of p ...

. 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. Settles' story was told by Dr.

Michael Baden Michael M. Baden (born July 27, 1934) is an American physician and board-certified forensic pathologist known for his work investigating high-profile deaths and as the host of HBO's ''Autopsy''. Baden was the chief medical examiner of the Ci ...

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's series ''

Autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

''. Charles Burnett's 1995 film ''

The Glass Shield ''The Glass Shield'' is a 1994 American crime drama film co-written and directed by Charles Burnett. It stars Michael Boatman and Lori Petty as rookie Deputy Sheriffs who uncover a conspiracy around the arrest of a suspect (Ice Cube). After a fe ...

'' was based, in part, on the Settles case.

References

External links

Officer Denies Role in Ron Settles Jail Death
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Settles, Ron 1959 births 1981 deaths American football running backs Long Beach State 49ers football players Players of American football from Los Angeles Deaths in police custody in the United States Phineas Banning High School alumni