SAN FRANCISCO — Sheriff’s deputies arranged and gambled on fights between San Francisco jail inmates and told them to lie if they needed medical attention, an official said.
Public Defender Jeff Adachi, an elected official, said that over the past few weeks at least four deputies at San Francisco County jail threatened inmates with violence or withheld food if they did not fight, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.
Adachi said the ringleader in the fights was Deputy Scott Neu, who was accused in 2006 of forcing inmates to perform sexual acts on him. That case was settled out of court.
Harry Stern, an attorney for the San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, the union representing deputies, told The Associated Press on Friday in an email that there “wasn’t a ring to be the leader of.”
Stern also said in a statement that claims by Adachi were exaggerated and the fighting was little more than horseplay.
Adachi said the four deputies have been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi said he was “extremely disturbed” about the allegation. The department’s internal affairs unit is investigating and the sheriff is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to do an independent investigation as well.
Meanwhile, Police Chief Greg Suhr said he received the report from Adachi and his department will be investigating to see if there is any criminal wrongdoing. District Attorney George Gascon called the allegations deplorable.