Lorain County taxpayers pay $5.6M after jail guard left a cuffed man partly paralyzed
In May 2023, Lorain County Jail booking officer Brian Tellier slammed Jeffrey Fry, who was handcuffed and barefoot, head-first into a wall; Fry suffered a traumatic spinal injury requiring surgery and lost most use of his arms. Jail staff, including administrator Maj. James Gordon, Tellier's father-in-law, first described Fry as the aggressor, an account surveillance video contradicted, according to Prison Legal News. Fry sued in federal court in 2024. On June 16, 2026, Lorain County agreed to pay $5.6 million and the City of Elyria $750,000, a total of $6.35 million. A jury acquitted Tellier of felonious assault and records tampering in December 2025, and he received $30,000 in back pay; he was later fired over an unrelated case. Sheriff Jack Hall, who took office in 2025, created a jail inspector general post and did not respond to Cleveland 19's request for comment.
A jury later found him not guilty in December 2025.
Tellier was found in violation of jail policy for the take-down of Fry.
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