03/23/2026
📍Ron Settles & The City of Signal Hill | 1981
On June 2nd, 1981, Ron Settles was traveling to his part-time job as a student teacher and coach at a nearby junior high school. He was running late and decided to take a shortcut through the city of Signal Hill, a city that was notorious for corruption and famously avoided people of color, especially at night. Settles was pulled over by Signal Hill police officer Jerry Lee Brown. The next morning, he was “found” dead in his cell.
Because of the police department’s conspiracy of silence, there was no one to hold accountable and any claim against the city of Signal Hill seemed as hopeless as learning what had actually happened to Mr. Settles. Johnnie determined what their next step should be and asked for permission to have an independent autopsy performed. The coroner found that Mr. Settles injuries were not self-inflicted. The officers had beat him, put him in a choke hold, and killed him.
The conference room in The Cochran Firm Memphis office was dedicated to Ron’s memory by Mr. Cochran himself, and today, The Firm works with The Ron Settles Memorial Foundation giving scholarships to young people working towards a degree in law, education, or civil rights work.
Continue to follow along this month as we honor the life, career, and legacy of Mr. Cochran by sharing his story through a timeline.
