Corrections officer turns himself in on felony charges in 2023 inmate assault and separate endangering case

A Lorain County corrections officer is on the other side of the bars after being charged with seriously injuring and nearly paralyzing a jail inmate in 2023 as well as with endangering a child. Brian Tellier, 36, of South Abbe Road in Elyria, was being held Friday in the Erie County Jail in Sandusky on $135,000 cash or surety bond, the Lorain County Sheriff's Office announced Friday. He surrendered to the Sheriff's Office for booking and processing. He is charged with one count of felonious assault, two counts of tampering with records and one count of tampering with evidence, all felonies, and one count of dereliction of duty, a misdemeanor, in the alleged assault on jail inmate Jeff Fry on May 12, 2023. In a second case, Tellier is charged with two counts of endangering children, one felony and one misdemeanor, after a child in his care ingested a THC gummy and had to be taken to a hospital for treatment. Both secret, direct indictments were handed up Thursday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court. Neither case has yet been assigned to a judge. An internal investigation determined that Tellier allegedly violated Sheriff's Office policies, used excessive force and falsified records related to the incident. Those findings were forwarded to the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office for consideration of charges. "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 moved from paid administrative leave to unpaid administrative leave and faces a pre-disciplinary hearing in August, according to the Sheriff's Office. George Gerken, an attorney with the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said in May that he was representing Tellier. On Friday he said he had not spoken with Tellier since the charges were filed, so he could not speak on the case or whether he would represent Tellier. In the child endangerment case, Elyria police Capt. Bill Lantz said Tellier was charged after a Feb. 26 incident where 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, the active ingredient in marijuana. Police determined the child ingested a THC gummy, Lantz said. Tellier was placed on paid administrative leave from the jail in January, close to two years after the May 12, 2023, incident that left Fry with spinal injuries and lasting damage to his body. Arrested and taken to the jail by Elyria police, then 58-year-old Fry allegedly was intoxicated and agitated. He was booked and Tellier was walking him to a body scanner when Fry allegedly pulled away from Tellier. Tellier claimed he "guided" Fry to the floor, though surveillance video of the incident shows otherwise. Fry appeared seriously injured and further video allegedly showed care wasn't taken while loading him on a stretcher. Fry was first placed face-down and half on, half off a stretcher without his head, neck or back immobilized. He was then lifted by the legs and arms and Tellier flipped him over onto his back. Fry was taken University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center. A subsequent internal investigation determined Tellier violated official Sheriff's Office policies by falsifying his report on the incident. "The documents written by Officer Tellier don't accurately depict the use of force when compared to the video of the incident," Sheriff's Lt. Mike Crum wrote in that report in 2023. Tellier wasn't suspended at the time. He remained on duty for 600 days without restriction, but no contact with inmates, until former sheriff Phil Stammitti left office in early January. When Hall took office in January, he suspended Tellier from duty and ordered another full investigation. Alleging that Tellier shoved Fry headfirst into a wall and damaged his spinal cord, Fry's attorneys filed a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit against Stammitti, Tellier, Lorain County, the city of Elyria, LifeCare, police and corrections officers, LifeCare paramedics and jail nurses. The case is pending in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. Brian Tellier is married to Megan Tellier, a Lorain County human resources employee. His father-in-law is Sheriff's Maj. James Gordon, who oversees the office's Civil, Court and Corrections division. Reporter Owen MacMillan contributed to this story. Contact Vince Guerrieri at (440) 329-7124 or vguerrieri@chroniclet.com. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.