LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio — A Lorain County Sheriff’s Deputy was placed on leave for allegedly paralyzing an inmate more than a year and a half ago.
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Lorain County jail deputy Brian Tellier allegedly slammed the man headfirst into a wall while he was handcuffed, CBS affiliate WOIO reported.
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Newly elected Sheriff Jack Hall stated in the past that there has been a long-standing culture of abuse at the jail.
After taking office, Hall suspended Tellier, and the incident has since resulted in a $40,000,000 federal lawsuit that the inmate’s attorney filed in January 2024.
The lawsuit in ongoing. Since the time of the alleged incident, Jeffrey Fry has struggled to recover from his injuries.
“I’ve got to keep my hands like this because when I straighten them out, they hyper-extend,” Fry said as he motioned with his hands.
Fry’s attorney, Nicholas DiCello, says Tellier recklessly slammed his client headfirst into a wall, which caused him to be partially paralyzed.
“Jeff’s baseline now is what he’s looking at for the rest of his life,” DiCello said. “Jeff’s not going to get any better.”
The incident occurred on May 12, 2023, when Fry was arrested for violating probation, WOIO reported.
LCSO surveillance video shows Tellier grabbing Fry’s left arm and slamming him headfirst into a wall, according to DiCello.
Afterwards, Fry appeared limp and unconscious. Dicello said Tellier can then be seen tossing Fry like a rag doll and flopping him onto a gurney, with no regard for potential injuries.
“He’s got a permanent spinal cord injury, he’s got a lesion on his spinal cord,” DiCello said.
Fry has endured extensive operations to help restore some of his basic moto functions. The back of his neck is now covered in scars from surgical stitches.
The prior sheriff, Phil Stammitti, reprimanded Tellier but allowed him to keep his job at the jail. However, he was not allowed to have any contact with inmates.
Since the incident occurred, Tellier has never been suspended, until now.
On Monday, newly elected Sheriff Jack Hall placed Tellier on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, WOIO reported.
In May 2024, Hall promised that if elected he’d clean house at the Sheriff’s Office by cracking down on officers who mistreat inmates.
“One of the things that always sticks out was a term of culture of corruption,” Hall said.
DiCello hopes that under new administration deputies will show more care and compassion for inmates.
“No one’s called Jeff to apologize to him,” DiCello said. “No one’s called Jeff to say, hey we’re going to look into this, this isn’t going to happen again.”
DiCello’s lawsuit names 18 defendants, including the Elyria Police Department, Lorain County Sheriff’s Office and Lifecare Ambulance, Inc.
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