On June 27, 1985, inmates jailed at the Brooklyn House of Detention filed a class action lawsuit against New York City and jail personnel in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The plaintiffs, represented by the Legal Aid Society Prisoners' Rights Project, sought compensatory and punitive damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging injuries sustained during beatings by guards. On October 21, 1991, the parties signed a settlement agreement, which appears to have been negotiated by a Magistrate (Judge John L. Caden). The consent decree was negotiated within the terms of an injunction issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in Fisher v. Koehler, 692 F. Supp. 1519 (S.D.N.Y. 1988), injunction entered, 718 F. Supp. 1111 (S.D.N.Y. 1989), aff'd, 902 F.2d 2 (2d Cir. 1990), PC-NY-005.

Under the terms of the consent decree, the Brooklyn House of Detention agreed to take specific steps to reduce and eliminate guard brutality. To reduce incidences of guard brutality, the City agreed to provide new and existing guards with extensive training on values, interpersonal skills, and inappropriate types of force (e.g., kicking and using keys as a weapon). The jail also agreed to implement investigation training and procedures, monitor guard behavior with video surveillance, and dismiss any personnel who were either convicted of or pled no contest to charges of excessive force. The consent decree would be in effect until at least July 1, 1995, when the defendants could petition the court to modify or terminate the decree.

On October 25, 1991, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York ordered that class members be notified of the proposed settlement. On November 26, 1991, the court (Judge Arthur D. Spatt) held a hearing on the settlement and approved the consent decree. The case was closed on November 26, 1991. From what we have in the file, it does not appear that New York ever sought to terminate or modify the consent decree.

Elizabeth Chilcoat - 06/21/2006


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