Fatal Inmate Beating In Riverside County Jail Results In $1.8M Payout To Family

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County will pay $1.8 million to resolve a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the fatal beating of an inmate inside an Indio jail cell, The Press-Enterprise reported over the weekend.

The settlement, granted approval by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 1, resolves litigation filed by the family of 48-year-old John Leo Hemmer, according to the newspaper. The county admitted no liability, stating it chose to settle purely for financial reasons rather than sustain prolonged litigation.

Hemmer died on July 21, 2021, at the John Benoit Detention Center after being beaten with a metal crutch by his cellmate, Luke Hanchette, according to The Press-Enterprise.

Hanchette, who had a record of violent behavior, had obtained the crutch despite having no medical necessity for it, the lawsuit stated. Court filings cited by the newspaper alleged that correctional staff neglected to perform mandatory cell welfare checks for more than two hours, failed to address prior assaults in the cell, and operated with nonfunctional security cameras.

Hanchette was subsequently charged with murder, but died in his cell at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside in December 2023 before the case went to trial, The Press-Enterprise reported. Authorities did not suspect foul play, though his official cause of death remains sealed under a court order.

Hemmer's death occurred amid a prolonged spike in inmate fatalities across Riverside County correctional facilities, which prompted California Attorney General Rob Bonta to launch a pattern-or-practice civil rights investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in early 2023.

That state inquiry remains open with no formal conclusions released to date.

The lawsuit also follows broader scrutiny from the Riverside County Civil Grand Jury, which issued a report in June 2026 recommending an independent civilian oversight body with subpoena power after tracking dozens of in-custody deaths over recent years.

Sheriff Chad Bianco criticized the grand jury's findings as inaccurate, but the Board of Supervisors subsequently formed an ad hoc committee tasked with delivering recommendations on potential civilian oversight options by late January.

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