ELYRIA, Ohio — A jury at the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas found Brian Tellier, a former Lorain County corrections officer, not guilty of using force to break an inmate’s neck.
Tellier was facing one charge of felonious assault, one charge of tampering with records involving an incident report and another charge of tampering with records involving a use of force report.
He took the stand on the last day of the trial, calling what happened an unfortunate accident.
Tellier said it all started with a split-second decision and that he never meant to injure inmate Jeff Fry.
On the witness stand Thursday, Tellier said he was escorting a handcuffed Fry through the area of the jail when he felt Fry suddenly pull away.
"I remember us tripping," Tellier told the jury Thursday. "That’s the extent of what I do remember about that day.
"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."
Tellier’s defense attorneys didn’t dispute that the defendant seriously injured Fry. Instead, they claimed the officer’s actions were justified and reasonable.
Tellier was indicted earlier this year and put in the Erie County Jail, but was released after posting a $135,000 bond.
He was suspended without pay in January and was later fired.
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'You just broke my neck'
On May 12, 2023, Fry was arrested by Elyria police on a misdemeanor bench warrant and taken to the Lorain County jail for booking.
Video obtained by News 5 Investigators showed Tellier walking Fry to a room for a body scan. But along the way, surveillance video showed Fry, who was handcuffed, appear to turn away from Tellier, who was escorting him.
Watch:
In a report to supervisors, Tellier wrote that Fry fell due to his “inebriated and unstable state,” and that Tellier “guided” Fry to the floor.
But a lieutenant found that the report contained multiple inaccuracies and that Tellier used excessive force against Fry, who suffered a broken neck and paralysis.
RELATED: Man accuses jailer of assault, FBI investigating
Since then, Fry filed a $40 million lawsuit against the former sheriff, Tellier and others, alleging civil rights violations.
The sheriff turned over the investigation to the Corrections Inspector General in January 2025. The incident was also under investigation by the FBI.
In May, the sheriff announced that the investigation had concluded and that its findings had been turned over to the prosecutor's office for review.
Watch more about the investigation below:
RELATED: Prosecutors to review case of corrections officer accused of breaking man's neck
