The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has reached a $1.9 million settlement with 13 incarcerated women, stemming from a major prison use of force incident in August 2024 at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, California.
On August 2nd, 2024, correctional officers removed more than 150 incarcerated women from their cells to conduct a housing unit search, confining them to a dining hall for several hours. According to the plaintiffs, as facility temperatures climbed above 100 degrees, the women began asking for food, water, and medication. Prison officials reported that the population became disruptive, leading guards to deploy physical force, batons, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and flash-bang grenades.
The lawsuit claimed the operation was spearheaded in retaliation for numerous sexual misconduct complaints the women had filed against guards. The complaint described the facility environment that day as exhibiting “war zone” level violence. Plaintiffs reported severe and long-term injuries due to the chemical agents and physical assaults, including traumatic brain injuries, seizures, respiratory distress, and long-term vision loss.
“I couldn’t breathe. My lungs were on fire … I thought I was going to die,” plaintiff Wisdom Muhammad said in a recent interview at her home in Los Angeles.
The women received settlements ranging from $200,000 to $50,000 each, based on the severity of their injuries, according to their attorney Robert Chalfant.
“Sexual abuse of inmates, excessive force, cruel and unusual punishment, retaliation, those things need to stop,” Chalfant said. “And the only way those things stop is through lawsuits and forcing the payment of large amounts of money so that people take notice of what’s happening.”
While the state did not admit fault in the settlement, the CDCR confirmed that the 2024 incident resulted in one of the largest disciplinary actions in its history, with 41 staff members facing consequences including salary reductions, transfers, and terminations.
A separate class-action lawsuit connected to the same August 2024 incident (Hooper v. State of California) is still pending and scheduled for mediation.
You can read more in “California Agrees to $1.9 Million Settlement in Prison Use-of-Force Case” from the KQED website. KQED is the Northern California affiliate for National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Services (PBS).
