An Ohio jail deputy who was accused of slamming a handcuffed inmate head-first into a wall two years ago was cleared of all wrongdoing in the case.
Lorain County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Tellier, 36, was charged with two counts of tampering with records and one count of felonious assault for injuring Jeffrey Fry at the county jail on May 12, 2023.
Surveillance footage shows Tellier walking Fry through the jail’s sally port when he suddenly grabs Fry’s arm and shoves him into the wall. He then drags a limp and unresponsive Fry away and recklessly hurls him onto a gurney.
Fry suffered severe and permanent injuries after the assault, according to his attorney, including a spinal cord injury that left him with partial paralysis, weakness, chronic pain and disability.
In Tellier’s use-of-force report, he wrote that Fry was intoxicated, pulled away from him, and fell, adding that he tried to “guide” him to the ground. He also claimed that he hoisted Fry up against a wall to keep him standing.
Tellier’s sergeant approved the report, but a lieutenant reported discrepancies with the report’s narrative after reviewing surveillance video.
Tellier was suspended from his position under the county’s new sheriff, who launched an investigation into the incident in 2024. He was later fired.
Tellier’s trial only lasted three days. According to The Chronicle-Telegram, the jury deliberated for four hours over two days before deciding to acquit the former deputy.
During the trial, Fry’s defense attorneys echoed similar allegations in the use-of-force report — that Fry was intoxicated, being belligerent toward corrections staff, and throwing his belongings around.
They justified his use of force by citing the surveillance video that showed Fry pulling his left arm away from Tellier, which led Tellier to believe Fry was trying to escape custody.
On the stand, Tellier said he never meant to hurt Fry, calling the incident an “unfortunate accident.”
“I had a fraction of a second to make the reaction. I remember pulling him toward the wall, and we were going down, and tried to catch him,” the former deputy testified, per WEWS.
Tellier’s tampering with evidence and dereliction of duty charges were dismissed during the trial.
“The rule of law still works,” Daniel Leffler, one of Tellier’s attorneys, said after the trial concluded.
Fry’s attorney, Nick DiCello, said that his client respected the jury’s decision and is looking ahead to what could come of the ongoing civil case.
Fry, now 60, filed a $40 million lawsuit against more than a dozen individuals and entities, including the sheriff’s office, the Elyria Police Department, and Lifecare Ambulance, Inc., alleging several civil rights violations.
“Jeff feels confident his constitutional rights were violated, and that’s not an issue that was decided in this court,” DiCello said. “The testimony from both Lorain County officials and from Brian Tellier himself we believe confirmed that this was excessive force in violation of Jeff’s constitutional rights and we’re confident we’ll be able to prove that in federal court.”
Tellier’s time in court isn’t over.
He faces another criminal case after a 6-year-old boy who was in his care was hospitalized after consuming THC gummies.
According to The Morning Journal, citing Elyria Police reports, the boy was shaking, lethargic and intermittently unresponsive at a children’s hospital, shortly after being dropped off by a family member. Medical tests revealed the boy tested positive for THC, a marijuana component.
Investigators found THC-infused gummies in Tellier’s home.
He’ll stand trial next year for two counts of child endangering, one felony and one misdemeanor.
