San Francisco prison guards allegedly forced inmates into ‘Game of Thrones’ fight club
The guards also allegedly bet on the outcomes of the fights
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Four San Francisco sheriff’s deputies have been suspended after they allegedly forced inmates at the San Francisco County jail to fight each other and allegedly bet on the fights, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The US Justice Department has been asked to investigate the alleged incidents, about which San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi said “I can only describe this as an outrageously sadistic scenario that sounds like it’s out of Game of Thrones.”
In one alleged fight, the guards told a 150-pound inmate to fight a 300-pound inmate or else he would be beaten, handcuffed and tasered, the Chronicle reported.
The inmates allegedly were told not to seek medical attention after the fights, but told that if they did to tell doctors they fell out of their bunks.
The deputies also allegedly promised hamburgers to the inmates if they won the fights, but threatened them with pepper spray and violence if they refused to participate, Mr Adachi said.
One of the four deputies allegedly involved in this case was accused in 2006 of sexually assaulting inmates. That case was eventually settled out of court. All four deputies were put on administrative leave on Thursday.
San Francisco County Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi has called on the Justice Department to investigate these claims.
The San Francisco Deputy Sheriff’s Associate – the union that represents the accused – said the allegations were exaggerated and called the fighting “little more than horseplay”, the Guardian reported.
Follow @PaytonGuion on Twitter.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments