Lorain County, city of Elyria to pay $6.35 million to settle 2023 jail inmate injury lawsuit

Lorain County, the city of Elyria and other defendants have paid more than $6.35 million to settle a lawsuit by Jeffrey Fry, who suffered a spinal cord injury after being arrested by Elyria police and then booked at the Lorain County Jail in 2023. Fry's attorneys, Nicholas DiCello and Jeremy Tor of the law firm Spangenberg Shibley & Liber in Cleveland, said Thursday that the settlement resolves claims against all defendants in a lawsuit originally filed in 2024 in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. Lorain County will pay $5.6 million to settle claims against the county Sheriff's Office, current and former corrections officers. Sheriff Jack Hall, who inherited the lawsuit when he took office in January 2025, said Thursday he would reserve comment until he discussed the matter with his legal counsel at the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutor Tony Cillo said the settlement was handled by attorneys with the County Risk Sharing Authority, or CORSA, the county's insurance carrier that frequently handles such lawsuits. He said the county's agreement with CORSA gives it permission to settle cases, sometimes even over its client's objection. Elyria will pay $750,000 to settle claims against Elyria police officer Ali Sabeiha, who arrested Fry on a warrant on May 12, 2023, then took him to the Lorain County Jail where Fry was injured while in custody. Elyria Police Chief James Welsh directed questions about the settlement to Elyria Law Director Amanda Deery, who declined comment. A portion of the settlement involving LifeCare remains confidential, DiCello said. Paramedics from the private ambulance company were called to the jail to transport Fry after he was injured there. A message seeking comment was left for LifeCare. It's common for private parties like LifeCare to request confidentiality when settling a lawsuit and it's something that can be negotiated as part of a settlement, DiCello said. Fry's original $40 million federal lawsuit alleged that he suffered "catastrophic injuries" after being slammed head-first into a wall and concrete floor by corrections officer Brian Tellier as he was led to the body scanner at the jail on May 12, 2023. The lawsuit named the county, former Sheriff Phil Stammitti, Elyria, Sabeiha, LifeCare and multiple corrections officers and nursing staff. Fry had been arrested by Elyria police earlier that day on a warrant for failure to appear in Elyria Municipal Court in a 2020 criminal case. The entire incident was captured on jail surveillance cameras. The video showed Fry apparently unable to walk, so jail staff carried him to a nearby room to await LifeCare paramedics. When paramedics arrived, the video showed multiple corrections officers and two paramedics attempt to load Fry onto a stretcher. He was first placed half on, half off the stretcher and face down without his head, neck or back immobilized. Fry was then lifted up by the legs and arms and placed on the stretcher, also face down. Tellier then flipped him over onto his back and he was belted onto the stretcher. Fry's lawsuit alleged that after the incident, the defendants failed to provide appropriate medical care despite clear signs of a serious head, neck and spinal cord injury. Now 61 and living with a friend and near his family in Clyde in Sandusky County, Fry is "doing well" under the circumstances despite an injury that will affect him the rest of his life, DiCello said. Given his injury, Fry is "lucky" he can walk, DiCello said, and will live the rest of his life with chronic pain and only limited use of one of his arms. "Jeff is a survivor. He's not someone to lie around and wait for someone to take care of him," DiCello said. Fry obviously would rather not have been injured, but his attorney said he was committed to seeking justice. "This is one of those situations that shows the civil justice system is available to anyone and everyone and it can be used to successfully hold people accountable when your rights are violated," DiCello said. Hall fired Tellier after Tellier was criminally charged in two cases: One, for allegedly assaulting Fry and, two, after he was accused of endangering his son after the child ate a THC gummy while under Tellier's care in February 2025 and had to be taken to a hospital. In December, a Lorain County Common Pleas jury found Tellier not guilty of felonious assault and lying on a report to cover up the incident with Fry. In January, Tellier pleaded guilty in Common Pleas Court to misdemeanor child endangerment in his son's case. He was sentenced to one year good behavior, agreed to give up his law enforcement career and was paid more than $30,000 in back pay for the six months between Hall firing Tellier and Tellier being found not guilty of assaulting Fry. Stammitti hired Tellier in 2021. After the incident with Fry, Stammitti modified Tellier's duties but didn't suspend or fire him. Hall immediately suspended Tellier and launched a criminal investigation into him after taking office in January 2025. The Fry incident helped lead to the creation of a corrections inspector general position within the Sheriff's Office, where Inspector Ryan Kolegar investigates complaints or allegations of wrongdoing against corrections staff. Tellier was a state corrections officer for six months before joining the Lorain County Sheriff's Office. His father-in-law is sheriff's Maj. James Gordon, the current head of corrections at the county jail. Brian Tellier's wife, Megan Tellier, works in Lorain County's Human Resources Department. Reporter Owen MacMillan contributed to this story. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.