In another example of the city looking to settle lawsuits quickly to save money, taxpayers will shell out $5,000 to a convict currently being held in an upstate prison over his own handwritten lawsuit that accused Rikers Island guards of beating him after they spotted a white string sticking out of his rear end, where he had shoved marijuana after his girlfriend smuggled it into the jail, court papers state.
Junaun Simmons, 25, was visiting with his gal pal on July 31, 2011, when two correction officers saw him put something in his underwear and ordered him to stand up and be strip searched, according to his self-filed Manhattan federal court lawsuit.
“Both [officers] noticed a long white-skinny string hanging out of plaintiff’s rectum, they both stared yelling at plaintiff to ‘pull that string out of your ass right now before we f— you up!” his suit states.
Simmons said, “What string are you talking about?,” but after the guards kept yelling, he reached for the string — and at that moment, the guards began beating him until he passed out, his suit claimed.
Simmons also claimed that guards told him if he didn’t report the assault, they wouldn’t report him for the drugs. He’s currently serving six years on drug and assault charges at an upstate prison.
A city Law Department spokesman said, “Settling was best for the city.”