Alleged assault by corrections officer sent to prosecutor (VIDEO)

The Lorain County Sheriff's Office will forward the case of a corrections officer who allegedly paralyzed an inmate of the Lorain County Jail in 2023 to the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office to be considered for criminal charges. Another corrections officer has been terminated due to an unrelated incident. In a news release sent Tuesday, Sheriff Jack Hall announced that his office had completed a report on the alleged assault of Jeffrey Fry, of Elyria, by Correction Officer Brian Tellier on May 12, 2023, at the Lorain County Jail that left Fry with spinal injuries. Tellier, 36, has been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 6, shortly after Hall took office. The investigation of the alleged assault was carried out by the Sheriff's Inspector General Office, which Hall opened after taking office. Hall said that the Inspector General's Office would submit a preliminary report to Prosecutor Tony Cillo and, pending final review, he expected the case would be presented to a Lorain County grand jury for consideration of criminal charges. Fry, 60, has sued a number of county and city of Elyria employees and entities for a total of $40 million over a variety of allegations including assault, civil rights violations and medical negligence. The alleged assault, which was caught on camera, left Fry with spinal injuries requiring lifelong care. In the same news release, the Sheriff's Office announced that Correction Officer Christopher Jackson had been terminated for failing to follow protocol in a Dec. 29, 2024 "physical confrontation" with an inmate. The Sheriff's Office also is seeking dereliction of duty charges against Jackson, according to the release, and Jackson is still under review for additional allegations. The release did not specify the nature of the allegations. The Fry incident On May 12, 2023, Fry was being patted down for contraband by Tellier at the Lorain County Jail following Fry's arrest by Elyria police earlier that day. Tellier eventually led Fry to a full body scanner at the jail when Fry, who deputies said was intoxicated, allegedly attempted to pull away while handcuffed. In a report filed after the incident, Tellier wrote that he then "guided" Fry to the floor, but the footage of the incident shows otherwise. Fry's attorneys, of Cleveland law firm Spangenberg, Shibley and Liber, say that the video shows Tellier throwing or "hip checking" Fry into a wall, allegedly knocking him unconscious and damaging his spinal cord. A prior investigation carried out by Corrections Lt. Mike Crum under previous Sheriff Phil Stammitti, dated May 19, 2023, found that Tellier turned Fry toward the wall and "propelled" him downward toward it. He wrote that Tellier's use of force was "inappropriate and excessive" and that Tellier then lied about his use of force to supervisors. Video after the incident also shows Tellier, other officers and jail medical personnel moving Fry repeatedly while never making any attempt to stabilize his head or neck. Crum wrote that Fry also was "forcefully placed… and forcefully flipped" on a gurney by both jail personnel and two LifeCare paramedics. Fry's attorneys have alleged that this treatment following the initial head injury may have worsened the injuries and Fry's medical outcome. Crum's internal investigation concluded that Tellier violated official Sheriff's Office policies by falsifying a report of his version of the incident. Stammitti, a Democrat, did not suspend Tellier, who remained on duty but without contact with inmates for over 600 days before he was suspended by Hall, a Republican who was elected after Stammitti declined to seek reelection. When Hall placed Tellier on paid administrative leave in January, he said that his then-newly hired Sheriff's Office Inspector General Ryan Kolegar would investigate the allegations against Tellier and "take a fresh look from the beginning." Tellier is a member of the Lorain County Sheriff's Office Corrections Union, which is a part of the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. OPBA Attorney Gregory Gerken said that he was representing Tellier in the matter, but that he did not have any comment on the case as of Tuesday evening. "Every incident involving the jail with an inmate and an officer has different circumstances to dictate the level of reaction as taught to officers involving situations in a continuum by the state of Ohio standards," LCSO Corrections Union Director David Edwards said in a written statement on Tuesday. "All incidents vary. The Union will allow the due process to play out in both these cases." A request seeking comment was left with Fry's attorney, Nicholas DeCillio. Officer Christopher Jackson Also included in the release was the termination of Jackson, which is unrelated to the Tellier investigation. Jackson was terminated by the Sheriff's Office on April 21 following "a comprehensive review" of a physical altercation between himself and an inmate of the Lorain County Jail on Dec. 29. The release from the Sheriff's Office said that during lunch distribution, an inmate threw feces on Jackson. "Instead of awaiting backup, as policy dictates, Officer Jackson ordered the cell door opened and engaged in a physical confrontation with the inmate," the release said. The inmate, whose name was withheld "for privacy reasons," was not injured. "Despite his 17 years of service since his hiring in 2008, Officer Jackson's failure to follow protocol and his reckless judgment created a serious security issue," the release said. The Sheriff's Office said that in addition to firing Jackson, it would refer the case to Cillo for consideration of a criminal charge of dereliction of duty under Ohio Revised Code 2921.44. Gerken said that he was unaware of any criminal charges filed against Jackson, but that he would be representing Jackson and that the OPBA had filed for arbitration to try and have Jackson reinstated. Edwards also said that the same inmate who threw feces on Jackson also threw feces on two additional corrections officers two days later, on Dec. 31, 2024. In its release, the Sheriff's Office said that Jackson was still under internal investigation for "other alleged misconduct during his tenure." "The Lorain County Sheriff's Office remains steadfast in holding all employees to the highest standards of professionalism and accountability," the release said. "These actions reflect our unwavering dedication to public trust and institutional integrity by doing the right thing for the right reason." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.