Lawsuit over Missouri jail beating settled for nearly $440K

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A former inmate who alleged guards at a troubled jail in Kansas City beat him so severely he suffered nine broken ribs, fractured wrists and a collapsed lung has settled a lawsuit for $437,500.

Jackson County agreed Monday to the settlement with James Ramirez, whose lawsuit is one of many filed by former inmates in recent months, The Kansas City Star reported.

Ramirez's suit alleged there was "a widespread pattern of using excessive force" against inmates at the Jackson County Detention Center and that guards twice attacked him July 4, 2015.

Four of those guards have been indicted on federal charges alleging they violated Ramirez's civil rights.

An FBI investigation of the jail is ongoing.

Two weeks ago, about 200 law enforcers raided the jail. The search came as two guards were arrested in a contraband-smuggling operation.

Additionally, at least three inmate-on-inmate sexual assaults and one death that raised questions about the sufficiency of medical care have led to subsequent investigations and provoked county officials to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on consultants.

A suit alleging lax security led to an inmate's sexual assault resulted in a $275,000 settlement earlier this year.

Ramirez alleged in his lawsuit he was set upon by three guards while he was being held on a Benton County warrant for an alleged probation violation.

The suit stated the guards slammed him into a cinder block wall, punched him repeatedly and pinned him to the floor with knees to his back and neck as other guards laughed.

The suit stated the attack ended when another guard signaled a supervisor was approaching.

The suit stated the beating resumed later that night. Nine hours after the first attack, Ramirez was admitted to a hospital with bruises, the broken wrists and ribs, collapsed lung and three fractured vertebrae.