San Bernardino County has settled for almost $2.75 million seven federal lawsuits filed by dozens of current and former inmates at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga who alleged a pattern of physical abuse by deputies.

The lawsuits followed confirmation in April 2014 of a criminal investigation by the FBI and an internal affairs investigation by the Sheriff’s Department that began a month prior. The FBI investigation is ongoing.

On July 11, the county settled for $2.5 million five lawsuits totaling 32 plaintiffs represented by Victorville attorneys Jim Terrell, Sharon Brunner and Stanley Hodge and Woodland Hills attorney Dale Galipo.

On June 27, the county settled another lawsuit involving plaintiff Eric Smith, one of the first inmates to report the alleged abuse, for $175,000.

And on June 21, the county settled another lawsuit with plaintiff Armando Marquez for $70,000.

Among the allegations, inmates claimed they were subject to Taser gun torture and brutal pat-down searches their attorneys characterized as sodomy.

The allegations prompted the terminations of seven sheriff’s deputies and sweeping reforms and security upgrades at the jail, one of four in the county operated by the Sheriff’s Department.

“Back in March of 2014, Sheriff John McMahon went public and made it clear that he was not going to tolerate any misconduct by department personnel when this incident broke out,” sheriff’s Lt. Sarkis Ohannessian said in a statement. “The department and the FBI fully cooperated to ensure a comprehensive investigation was completed.”

Within a month of the investigation, rookie deputies Brock Teyechea, Andrew Cruz and Nicholas Oakley were no longer employed by the department. As the investigation continued into October 2014, deputies Robert Escamilla, Russell Kopasz, Robert Morris and Eric Smale were placed on paid administrative leave. They are no longer with the department, Ohannessian said.

“The clients were glad that the major people involved are no longer in law enforcement,” said Terrell, who along with Brunner and Hodge were among the first to file lawsuits after the allegations surfaced.

Terrell said the criminal backgrounds of his clients posed challenges with putting the case in front of a jury. He said the settlement moved forward quickly when his team brought on board Galipo, a veteran trial attorney specializing in police excessive-force cases.

Galipo said in a telephone interview his clients could have possibly received a bigger jury award at trial, but it would have been a gamble.

“Hopefully this is a wake-up call for the detention center that has had a host of inmate abuse problems in the past,” Galipo said. “I can tell you, if it continues to go on, it’s going to be hard for them to say, ‘Gee, we didn’t know this was going on.’ It’s going to be more difficult for them to defend themselves.”

Sheriff’s officials maintain the abuse by deputies was an isolated incident and not suggestive of an institutional problem. The department attributed the problems to prison realignment, which was implemented in 2011 and shifted many inmates serving longer sentences into county jails instead of state prison. Sheriff’s officials said it led to sharp increases in both inmate-on-inmate violence and confrontations between inmates and deputies.

“Today, our deputies in our corrections bureau continue to receive training in the proper procedures for dealing with inmates who have a higher criminal sophistication today than ever before due to the state prison realignment,” Ohannessian said.

Since 2014, more than 350 security cameras have been installed at the jail, which Ohannessian said will hold deputies and inmates more accountable for their actions. Additionally, he said the jail has added more medical staff and sergeants to provide better care and supervision.

Brunner, one of the defense attorneys, also said the process for inmates filing grievances at the jail has improved.

She said in a telephone interview she hopes that the substantial number of inmates who sued sends a message to the county and its Sheriff’s Department that such abuses cannot, and will not, be tolerated.

“We hold out hope and faith that the FBI will come back and there will be some indictments and charges against these deputies,” Brunner said.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said its more than three-year investigation, which prompted the impaneling of a federal grand jury, continues.

Attorneys for Eric Smith and Armando Marquez, the other two inmates whose lawsuits were settled, did not return telephone calls and emails seeking comment.

Meanwhile, other lawsuits are ongoing or pending.

Riverside attorney Robert McKernan is representing four inmates: Daniel Vargas, Anthony Gomez, Mario Villa and Keith Courtney.

McKernan said all four plaintiffs have agreed to a settlement offer by the county, and the paperwork is being forwarded to County Counsel for execution.

The case of inmate Cesar Vasquez, whose lawsuit was filed in August 2014 and was amended July 7, is currently scheduled for trial on July 10, 2018, his attorney, Scott Eadie, said in a telephone interview Friday.

Vasquez, a former food server at the jail, was among a bevy of inmates who alleged deputies engaged in a hazing ritual of Taser gun torture with “chow servers,” who received special privileges at the jail including more food and the ability to move more freely through their cellblocks.

Among Vazquez’s allegations is that fired Deputy Oakley had inmate Lamar Graves use his phone to shoot video of Oakley stunning Vazquez with his Taser in a utility closet, away from view of security cameras.

Eadie said he has subpoenaed the FBI for the video.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from a previous version to correct the total number of lawsuits that have settled, which is seven.