CHICAGO | Several thousand people who were strip searched in the Will County Jail as part of a since-abandoned policy will share in a $2.15 million settlement announced Thursday in federal court, attorneys said.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman in December ruled that jailers violated the rights of many inmates arrested for minor offenses.

Gettleman ruled the searches could be allowed only when jail officials had reasonable suspicion to believe an inmate was carrying contraband, such as drugs or weapons.

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow appealed Gettleman’s decision, but attorneys reached Thursday’s settlement before the appeal went to court, said Kenneth N. Flaxman, an attorney for the plaintiffs.

“We are pleased by this settlement,” Flaxman said in a statement. “The sheriff has already responded to the lawsuit by stopping the unnecessary strip search policy.”

The lawsuit, which had been granted class-action status, originally was filed in May 2003 on behalf of three former inmates arrested in cases of mistaken identity on warrants for failure to appear in court on misdemeanor or traffic charges.