CA agrees to $1.9 million settlement in use-of-force case at Chowchilla women’s prison
California recently agreed to a $1.9 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit brought by 13 currently and formerly incarcerated women who alleged prison staff violently assaulted them in retaliation for sexual abuse allegations female inmates filed against correctional officers, according to a lawyer representing the women.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation settled the case one year after it was filed in federal court in March 2025. The settlement agreements ranged from $200,000 to $50,000 for each of the plaintiffs, said Robert Chalfant, the attorney who represents the 13 women.
CDCR has not yet produced the settlement agreements that The Sacramento Bee requested through a public records request. A department spokesperson declined to confirm the settlement amounts.
“It’s not chump change. Something happened that was not supposed to happen,” Chalfant said. “For them, it’s huge.”
The incident took place at the Central California Women’s Facility on Aug. 2, 2024, when 159 women of a single housing unit were detained in the prison’s cafeteria. According to the initial complaint, officers began throwing away the womens’ belongings in retaliation to sexual abuse allegations that female inmates filed against correctional staff.
The complaint stated that officers unleashed a torrent of pepper spray, tear gas grenades, rubber bullets and baton strikes, despite the women posing no threat and complying with officers’ orders. The lawsuit describes how the assault on the women continued outside the cafeteria, with officers beating and spraying women restrained in zip-ties.
As a result of the incident, women lost consciousness, had seizures and one plaintiff likely suffered a stroke, the lawsuit stated.
CDCR previously said that officers were attempting to “quell” a fight between two incarcerated individuals.
Video footage of the incident obtained by KQED appears to show the women gesticulating and shouting at the correctional staff before the officers form a line and deploy pepper spray and mace grenades at the group. The women, several of which appear to use mobility devices, including a wheelchair, scramble away from the officers. The video footage also appears to show officers pushing two inmates to the ground and beating them.
Forty-one staff members disciplined
The incident resulted in the largest corrective action “issued against CDCR staff from a single incident,” said Emily Humpal, a spokesperson for the department. Humpal said the disciplinary actions taken “demonstrates CDCR’s commitment to redressing policy violations.”
The department disciplined 41 staff members who were involved in the incident. Disciplinary measures included termination, transfers to other positions and salary reductions. CDCR did not respond to questions about how many employees were terminated or transferred.
Some of the CDCR staff remain at the Chowchilla facility and the women who were involved in the pepper-spray incident are still facing retaliation, Chalfant said.
“They’re the ones who still have to live at CCWF and the guards are still employed there. What can you say?” Chalfant said. He commended his clients’ courage to come forward despite still being incarcerated at the facility.
A review of the incident was conducted by Valley State Prison staff to ensure integrity of the investigation. The Office of the Inspector General reviewed the incident and agreed with disciplinary actions taken, according to CDCR. The department stated that it conducted “targeted retraining” for staff on use of force and how to respond to certain incidents.
A second lawsuit, filed last May on behalf of the other women who were present at the August incident, is still moving through the courts. The class-action lawsuit alleges that CCWF staff used excessive force against the women in retaliation for the inmates filing sexual abuse claims. According to court documents, a mediation between the parties in May. A CDCR spokesperson said the department does not comment on pending litigation.
CDCR faces a “wave” of lawsuits
According to documents obtained through a public records request, CDCR has spent over $6.8 million on settlements in cases related to complaints of sexual assault, sexual harassment and gender violence between 2022 and 2025.
That amount will likely grow in coming years as the number of lawsuits against the department has increased. . In a recent audit, the OIG stated that the agency recently became aware of a “wave” of lawsuits filed by currently and formerly incarcerated people who have alleged staff misconduct.
At least 83 members of correctional staff who worked at various female prisons have been accused of sexual misconduct by over 270 people who are formerly or currently incarcerated, according to the audit.
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into CCWF and another women’s prison, California Institution for Women, to determine if CDCR has sufficiently protected female inmates from sexual abuse by correctional staff.
During a recent Assembly oversight hearing, CDCR leadership acknowledged that higher than expected legal fees and settlements have contributed to the department’s structural shortfall. Although California’s prison population has decreased by roughly 50% in the last two decades, the department’s operational spending has only decreased by 11%, when adjusted for inflation, over that period.
