$5 million legal bill for the LA Sheriff's department in jail abuse suit

Ways to Subscribe

Gabriel Carrillo, 30, says he was beaten up by LA County Sheriff's Deputies while visiting his brother in jail - one of dozens of cases of abuse that prompted the latest reforms.

The high payout isn't that unusual and it could change the way the department handles abuse allegations in the future, says UCLA's Sharon Dolovich.

The LA County Sheriff's department is out more than $6.3 million.

That's because five inmates claimed they were brutally beaten by deputies while housed at the Men's Central Jail.

A jury agreed with them, but on top of the nearly $1 million they awarded, the judge ruled that the department will have to pay out an addition $5.4 to settle up the legal fees.

Sharon Dolovich, professor of law at UCLA and faculty director of its Prison Law and Policy Program, explains that the high sum isn't that unusual and that it could change the way the department handles abuse allegations in the future.