The attorney for the man whose neck was allegedly broken when a Lorain County Jail corrections officer grabbed and appeared to fling him head-first into a wall has filed a $40 million lawsuit.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
The complaint, filed on behalf of Jeff Fry, names the Elyria Police Department, the Lorain County Sheriff and Lifecare Ambulance among the defendants in the lawsuit, filed Tuesday by Spangenberg, Shibley & Liber in United States District Court.
"This is one of the most blatent and outrageous uses of excessive force that we have seen," said attorney Nick DiCello.
On May 12, 2023, officers arrested Fry on an outstanding municipal court bench warrant.
“I didn’t pay my fine,” Fry told News 5 Investigator Scott Noll last October. “I was homeless. I had no money.”
The report said Fry was under the influence of alcohol but capable of walking on his own.
Surveillance video from inside the jail showed Fry getting searched.
Then, as a corrections officer walked Fry through the jail’s sallyport area, the video showed Fry, who was handcuffed behind his back, briefly turn away from the jailer.
That corrections officer, Brian Tellier, then appeared to grab Fry and fling him face-first toward a glass wall.
Still handcuffed, and unable to brace himself, Fry’s face and head hit the base of the wall, according to incident reports.
“I was knocked out completely,” said Fry. “Body froze. Couldn’t move. Nothing. Nothing.”
In his report, Tellier told supervisors because of the “risk of potential escape,” he "attempted to place Fry against the wall," but that Fry fell due to his intoxicated state.
After regaining consciousness, Fry was unable to walk, stand, or control his extremities. Officers are seen on video dragging Fry by his handcuffed arms to a booking vestibule, “rather than providing him the proper medical assistance,” his attorneys stated in a news release.
Fry said that’s where he came to.
“They started talking and asked me how I was doing, and I said I don’t know, you just broke my neck,” said Fry.
Despite that, at no time on the recording does it appear anyone tried to stabilize Fry’s head.
Instead, with Fry seated, propped up against a wall, a nurse checked his vital signs. After that, an ambulance was called for Fry.
According to a letter from the jail’s administrator, Fry’s injuries were not a result of the use of force.
Instead, James Gordon, the jail administrator, told a sheriff’s captain it was for Fry’s “extreme intoxication and low blood pressure.”
Gordon is Tellier’s father-in-law, according to a sheriff’s captain.
Since the recording does not contain audio, there’s no way to know what the ambulance crew was told about Fry’s injuries.
But the video showed jail and ambulance staff repeatedly picking up Fry and moving him without any stabilization of his head or neck as they attempted to position Fry on the stretcher.
According to a report from a jail sergeant, “Fry was forcefully placed onto the gurney and forcefully flipped onto his back.” “This should not have occurred if there was a suspected head or neck injury,” wrote Sergeant David Kish.
Fry’s attorney claims this was done “all with deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs and with reckless disregard for his well-being.”
As a result, Fry suffered a permanent spinal cord injury resulting in partial paralysis and weakness, chronic pain and disability.
"I'm still paralyzed probably 80% in my arms," said Fry Tuesday at a news conference announcing the lawsuit. "I can't dress myself."
“Not only was this egregious assault against a defenseless man permitted to occur at the Lorain County Jail, trusted law enforcement personnel lied about what took place and no one took any action to protect Jeff once it was clear he had a serious head, neck, and spinal cord injury,” said DiCello, partner, Spangenberg, Shibley and Liber.
County records show the sheriff’s office opened an investigation into Tellier’s actions in May 2023.
A lieutenant found that Tellier used inappropriate and excessive force against Fry and falsified county records when he submitted inaccurate incident and use of force reports.
The incident remains under investigation by the FBI, and while Tellier was given a written reprimand for the incident, he remains employed with the Lorain County Jail.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages in the amount of over $40 million for Fry’s injuries, damages, and loss, including medical care, lost earnings and lost earning capacity.
News 5 has reached out to the Lorain County Sheriff's Office, the union representing Lorain County jailers, LifeCare Ambulance and the City of Elyria for comment. Elyria Mayor Kevin Brubaker said he is not aware of the lawsuit because the incident took place before he took office, and he cannot comment on pending litigation.
Fry's lawsuit is not the only federal civil rights lawsuit the Lorain County Sheriff's Office faces for incidents inside the jail.
Last month, a man who was in the jail awaiting transfer to a mental health facility sued the county after Corrections Officer Ruben Ortiz was seen on camera repeatedly hitting the man last August.
RELATED: Lorain County Jail officer charged with assault, seen striking inmate about 15 times in 6 seconds
Oritz was criminally charged with assault and falsification. He's pleaded not guilty to those charges.
One of Fry's attorneys said Tuesday the law firm is currently looking into multiple other potential civil rights cases involving Lorain County's jail.
Watch our full investigation from last October below:
RELATED: ‘You just broke my neck' — Man accuses jailer of assault, FBI investigating
