Ron Settles
Encyclopedia
Ron Settles was a California State University, Long Beach
& Banning High School football
player who was arrested by the Signal Hill Police Department
in 1981. The morning after his arrest, he was found severely beaten and hanging in his jail cell. A huge furor erupted afterwards over the suspicious nature of his death. The police said he committed suicide
, but this story was very weak. The Los Angeles
District Attorney
filed charges against them, with the Signal Hill Police officers eventually taking the fifth amendment
to avoid incriminating themselves. No one was convicted of Settles' homicide
, but the city of Signal Hill did pay a large settlement to the family. Settles' murder was one of several highly controversial deaths of arrestees in the 1970s and 80s that changed the way police departments deal with prisoners. Many police departments now videotape jail areas, and any time a police officer or correction officer touches a prisoner in any sort of 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
on HBO's series Autopsy.
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
& Banning High School football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was arrested by the Signal Hill Police Department
Signal Hill, California
Signal Hill is a small city in California located in the Greater Los Angeles area. Signal Hill, completely surrounded by the city of Long Beach, was incorporated on April 22, 1924, roughly three years after oil was discovered in Signal Hill. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
in 1981. The morning after his arrest, he was found severely beaten and hanging in his jail cell. A huge furor erupted afterwards over the suspicious nature of his death. The police said he committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, but this story was very weak. The Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
filed charges against them, with the Signal Hill Police officers eventually taking the fifth amendment
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
to avoid incriminating themselves. No one was convicted of Settles' homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
, but the city of Signal Hill did pay a large settlement to the family. Settles' murder was one of several highly controversial deaths of arrestees in the 1970s and 80s that changed the way police departments deal with prisoners. Many police departments now videotape jail areas, and any time a police officer or correction officer touches a prisoner in any sort of 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 Baden
Michael M. Baden is a physician and board-certified forensic pathologist known for his work investigating high-profile deaths and as a host of HBO's Autopsy. He is also the Forensic Science Contributor for Fox News Channel...
on HBO's series Autopsy.