Ron Settles (June 12, 1959 – June 2, 1981) was a California State University, Long Beach and Banning High School football player who was arrested by the Signal Hill Police Department in 1981 then died while in police custody.
The morning after his arrest, Settles was found severely beaten. Police officers claimed they found Settles hanging in his jail cell from a noose created from a mattress cover, from which they cut him down. However, police elected not to take photographic evidence of the hanging and instead only took pictures of Settles on the floor. Also officers refused to testify—pleading the fifth, in what continues to appear to some to have been a conspiratorial 'smokescreen' or cover-up of police brutality. In 1981, a jury in a Los Angeles coroner's inquest ruled that Settles had died 'at the hands of another, other than by accident'.
A furor erupted afterwards about the nature of his death, as the police said the death was a suicide. No one was prosecuted for Settles' death, but the City of Signal Hill did pay a $1 million settlement to the family.
The case had long-term impacts on the reputation of Signal Hill, although a new police chief took steps to reform the police department. The case was an early high-profile case handled by attorney Johnnie Cochran, who represented the family; one of the policemen implicated in the incident was also represented by another noted civil rights attorney, Stephen Yagman.
Settles’ death was one of several highly controversial deaths of arrestees in the 1970s and 1980s that changed the way police departments deal with prisoners. Many of them now videotape jail areas and any time a police officer or correction officer touches a prisoner in 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. Charles Burnett's 1995 film The Glass Shield was based, in part, on the Settles case.
Ron Settles remembered - Signal Tribune
Ron Settles remembered - Signal Tribune
Ron Settles remembered - Signal Tribune
Ron Settles - Spouse, Children, Birthday & More
Settles Connection - Bio
'Signal Hill's George Floyd': Day Of Remembrance For Ron Settles | Los ...
June 2, 1981: Football Player Ron Settles Murdered in Police Custody ...
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Brian Settles - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter [Profiles]
Ron Settles’ death set off a reckoning over police brutality; 41 years ...
Ron Settles’ death set off a reckoning over police brutality; 41 years ...
Richard Settles | Clinton Daily News
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Ron Settles (June 12, 1959 – June 2, 1981) was a California State University, Long Beach and Banning High School [1] football player who was arrested by the Signal Hill Police Department …
May 29, 2022 · Now, 41 years later, the city of Signal Hill has officially declared June 2, 2022, to be the first annual Ron Settles Day of Remembrance—a day to remember when a young …
Jun 11, 2020 · Settles, an African-American man was found hanged with a mattress cover in his cell June 2, about two hours after he was stopped for speeding. Police said when they stopped …
May 29, 2022 · Ron Settles, a football star at Cal State Long Beach, was driving to a part-time student teaching job at Franklin Middle School when he decided to take a shortcut through …
Ron Settles was a Long Beach State College football player who was arrested by the Signal Hill Police Department. The morning after his arrest, he was found severely beaten and hanging in …
Jun 6, 2022 · Friends and family recently celebrated the life of Ron Settles — 41 years after he died in a jail cell while in the custody of Signal Hill police.
Ron "Ronnie" Settles was a California State-Long Beach star student-athlete who was stopped and arrested by the Signal Hill Police Department in 1981 and murdered while in police …
Jan 14, 1983 · Officer Brown arrested Mr. Settles, who was 21 years old, on a speeding violation in June 1981. According to an investigation, Officer Brown and Mr. Settles struggled inside the …
Sep 2, 1981 · LOS ANGELES -- Long Beach State football star Ron Settles did not hang imself as police contend but died 'at the hands of another other than by accident,' a coroner's inquest …
Sep 6, 1981 · LOS ANGELES -- On that hot June day three months ago, Ron Settles seemed on top of his world, a college football star looking toward his best season and a possible contract …
