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A man who was severely beaten by police while trying to visit his brother in jail has been awarded a $1.17 million settlement. Gabriel Carrillo, 26, and his girlfriend went to Men's Central Jail in February of 2011 to see his younger brother, who was charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
Carillo said they accidentally brought their cell phones into the waiting area, which is prohibited. When his girlfriend dropped her phone, deputies rushed them and handcuffed Carrillo.
Carillo admitted to mouthing off, but the resulting attack was severe and vicious in nature. Carrillo testified that at one point, he lost consciousness and awoke to more beatings. Despite also being handcuffed, deputies also pepper-sprayed him.
Deputies allegedly tried to cover the incident up, but Sergeant Eric Gonzalez, who was the supervisor present during the incident, texted a photo of Carrillo's beaten face to another deputy who had beaten Carrillo's brother, LA Weekly reports. The text read: “Looks like we did a better job.”
Yesterday, we reported that an FBI agent had testified against the same jail for hindering an investigation into alleged abuse, including an accusation that deputies forced inmates to fight each other.
