Former inmates at a Flint jail say their rights were violated when they were exposed to lead-tainted water.
The lawsuit alleges that Genesee County officials withheld clean water, rationed bottled water and sometimes forced inmates to buy water. They're also accused of rejecting deliveries of water by relatives.
Attorney Solomon Radner calls it "unconstitutional torture." The lawsuit was filed Monday in Detroit federal court. Sheriff Robert Pickell (Pi-KELL') says he won't comment until he reads it.
The county jail, like the rest of Flint, was using water from the Flint River in 2014 and 2015. The city wasn't treating water to reduce corrosion, and lead leached from old pipes as a result.
In 2016, the sheriff settled a separate lawsuit by agreeing to regularly test jail water.
