Judge approves settlement of class action about male guards filming strip searches of female prisoners at the Chicopee Jail

On September 10, 2015, in Federal Court in Springfield, Judge Michael A. Ponsor granted final approval of the settlement in our class action lawsuit Baggett v. Ashe. Last year, the judge ruled that the Chicopee Jail’s policy permitting male guards to videotape female prisoners during strip searches violates the Constitution as well as basic human dignity. The parties then reached a settlement, which requires the jail to change its policy to prohibit male officers from filming strip searches except in an emergency. Defendants will pay $675,000 to settle the case. Any woman held at the WCC and videotaped by a male officer during a strip search since September 15, 2008, is a member of the class. The parties have identified 176 class members.

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