CROWN POINT | The Lake County Corrections Merit Board set a July 21 evidentiary hearing date Thursday in the case of six corrections officers accused of battering an inmate Dec. 26.

Lawyers representing officers William Brown, Pedro Elizondo, David Negrete, Aaron Roberts, Jeff Stillwell and Jonathon Stillwell asked the board to consolidate the cases, which the board granted.

Discovery is due July 3. After defense attorneys review the discovery, they can appeal to the merit board to separate their clients' cases from the group.

There has been no recommendation yet from a Lake County grand jury investigating the case for criminal charges in the alleged beating of Lake County Jail inmate Tommy Ford, county officials said.

As a result of the Sheriff's Department Internal Affairs investigation, the officers were charged internally with dereliction of duty, unethical behavior and covering up the incident.

The beating accusation also is the subject of a threatened lawsuit by Ford, who is seeking $1.5 million in damages.

Ford, who is serving a 50-year sentence for murder, allegedly became involved in a dispute Dec. 26 with the officers while being escorted from his jail cell to a visitation room.

Ford's lawyer alleges the officers became angry because Ford said they only had the courage to curse at inmates in handcuffs. The attorney claims officers punched, kicked and slammed Ford's head into a steel door and table while the inmate was cuffed.

The sheriff's office alleges the six officers used excessive force or stood by and watched the beating while Ford "was under compliance and handcuffed behind his back."