Lorain County corrections officer faces felony charges

A Lorain County corrections officer has been indicted following two separate investigations. Brian Tellier surrendered at the Lorain County Sheriff's Office today, a day after being indicted by a county grand jury based on an investigation into his conduct at the Lorain County Jail, and a separate investigation by Elyria police sparked by an incident at a local daycare center. Tellier was placed on paid administrative leave in January, nearly two years after an incident on May 12, 2023 that resulted in spinal injuries to a man being processed after being arrested by Elyria police. That man, Jeffrey Fry, sued Tellier and a host of other city and county employees. An internal investigation determined that Tellier violated sheriff's office policies, using excessive force and falsifying records related to the incident. The sheriff's office forwarded its findings to the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office for consideration of charges. Thursday, the grand jury returned indictments on charges of felonious assault, a second degree felony, records tampering and evidence tampering, both third-degree felonies and dereliction of duty, a second-degree misdemeanor. "We want to ensure our staff and inmates are held to the highest constitutional standards which resulted in the investigation of Officer Tellier's actions with inmate Fry." Sheriff Jack Hall said in a news release. "We feel we have conducted a thorough examination of the facts and presented a complete investigation to the grand jury." Tellier has been taken to the Erie County Jail, where is being held in lieu of $135,000 bail. With the indictment, the sheriff's office also moved him from paid leave to unpaid leave. He faces a scheduled pre-disciplinary hearing in August. Additionally, Tellier faces felony and misdemeanor charges of child endangerment. Elyria police Capt. Bill Lantz said those charged stemmed from an incident on Feb. 26, when first responders were called to Tiny Town Childcare on Cleveland Street for reports of a 6-year-old boy in medical distress. The boy was taken to University Hospitals-Elyria Medical Center, where he tested positive for THC. It was determined that he'd ingested a THC gummy.