SF deputies charged with staging inmate fights

SAN FRANCISCO - Two San Francisco sheriff's deputies and a former deputy were charged Tuesday with illegally staging inmate fights at the county jail, according to San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón.

CBS San Francisco reports Gascón said Sheriff Deputies Clifford Chiba and Eugene Jones and former deputy Scott Neu were facing felony and misdemeanor charges following an internal investigation and also one conducted by the FBI.

Neu was charged with four counts of assault by officer under the color of authority, four counts of criminal threats and nine misdemeanor charges. He faces a possible 10 years in jail if found guilty of all counts.

Jones was charged with two counts of assault by officer under the color of authority and three misdemeanor charges. He faces a possible 5 years in prison.

Chiba was charged with three misdemeanor charges and faces 18 months in county jail.

"These are serious crimes that damage the moral authority of law enforcement," Gascon said of the three men's actions. "Subjecting inmates who are in the care and custody of the state to degrading and inhumane treatment makes a mockery of the justice system."

The allegations against the three surfaced nearly a year ago when two men being held in jail -- Ricardo Palikiko Garcia and Stanley Harris -- complained to the public defender's office that deputies working at the jail threatened them with violence or withheld food in order to force them to engage in fights.

The deputies were then allegedly betting on the fights.

Garcia told the public defender attorneys that he was forced to fight Harris twice. He said his ribs had been fractured in one of the fights.

Gascon said the deputies forced a large inmate (Harris) to fight a small inmate (Garcia) "for their pleasure and entertainment."

Garcia was in custody on drug and gun charges at the time, but has since been released.

Meanwhile, Harris told attorneys that Neu actually put him on a training regimen to get his prepared for the fights. He claimed he was forced to do pushups and other exercises to get into fighting shape.

The alleged fights took place when the facility was under the guidance of former Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who has since been voted out of office.