SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SETTLES STRIP SEARCH LAWSUIT

Officials Deny Wrongdoing, But Agree To A $25.5 Million Settlement.
Thousands Of Ex-Inmates Could Benefit

San Bernardino County officials have agreed to pay $25.5 million to
settle a class-action lawsuit that said jailers conducted illegal
strip searches, sometimes in front of inmates and deputies of the
opposite sex.

As many as 160,000 inmates may have been subjected to the searches
over three years, attorneys for the plaintiffs said, and each could
get several hundred dollars, depending on how many apply for the
award. The settlement is one of the largest in the nation to resolve
the issue balancing jail security concerns and inmates' privacy rights.

Between May 2003 and December 2006, sheriff's deputies strip-searched
many inmates they processed into the two central jails, even if there
was no reason to suspect them of smuggling contraband, the plaintiffs'
attorneys said at a news conference in Los Angeles.

Inmates were forced to bend over and spread their buttocks so deputies
could see their body cavities, and some had their genitals inspected,
according to the lawsuit. "These are pretty humiliating things for
people who were arrested for all sorts of things, including very minor
offenses," said attorney Barry Litt.

San Bernardino County spokesman David Wert said the county denies
wrongdoing and disputes the allegations in the suit.

County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt said San Bernardino County agreed to
settle the suit to avoid the risks of litigation and noted that
insurance would pay for most of the settlement. The department changed
its policy last year after the lawsuit was filed so that the only
people being strip-searched are those suspected of carrying
contraband, Wert said.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Jodi Miller said the searches were done for jail
security. "Strip searches were never conducted with the thought of
embarrassment to anyone; it was all to ensure the safety of all
persons," she said.

The agreement requires the county to contact current and former
inmates who may have been subject to searches. The agreement is
expected to become final after a court hearing in February.

The suit was filed on behalf of six women and one man who were
searched at the West Valley Detention Center or the Central Detention
Center. They were accused of crimes including violation of a
restraining order and failure to appear in court in a drunk driving
case.

It alleged that the searches violated their constitutional right to
due process, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, and the ban
on cruel and unusual punishment. It also alleges that the group strip
searches violated state privacy laws.

The settlement names five groups of inmates who were searched
illegally: those transferred between county jails before they were
arraigned, federal inmates searched upon arriving at a county jail,
inmates who had been in custody of another law enforcement agency,
inmates who were ordered released and brought back to jail for
processing, and inmates searched in groups.

Litt said that in December, a federal judge ruled that jail officials
had violated the rights of inmates who were being strip-searched
before their arraignments as well as those the courts had ordered released.

The judge found the procedure was an unreasonable search, Litt said.

Plaintiff Betty Welch said she was forced to strip three times with
others at the West Valley Detention Center in July 2005, in view of
male inmates and sheriff's deputies not involved in the search. Some
could watch through a large window in the hallway. She had been
arrested for failure to appear on a drunk driving charge.

"That's a violation," she said.

The first time she was searched was when Adelanto police brought her
to the detention center.

Welch appeared in court on July 25. Before she was taken to court, she
was strip-searched, and after the judge ordered her released, she was
taken back to West Valley and searched a third time.

Welch, 52, said inmates were forced to squat for at least a minute.
She has steel rods and plates in her legs from a car accident and was
in pain. She said another woman was eight months pregnant and was
having trouble breathing.

Elroy Hardy said he was searched in a hallway of the West Valley
Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga with more than 40 other inmates.

Hardy, who was in custody in March 2005 for allegedly violating a
restraining order, said the inmates were forced to stand naked,
shoulder to shoulder and bend over with their backs to the guards
while they were searched.

Hardy said female deputies and jail trustees were watching or walking
through the area as they escorted other inmates or delivered bedding.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Gary Penrod, who was named in the
lawsuit, was not available for comment.

The other four county supervisors did not return calls for comment.