Lawsuit alleges beating of Cuyahoga jail inmate

CLEVELAND — An inmate in the Cuyahoga County Jail filed suit last week over what he described as an unprovoked beating by corrections officers in July 2018.

Cortez Tyree, 29, of Cleveland, said in the federal suit that corrections officers and members of the Special Response Team assaulted him after he refused to get off the phone with his wife. He did not comply with the officer’s order but was otherwise not threatening or violent, the suit says.

The officers left him with a fractured jaw and a burst eardrum, according to the suit.

The case is the latest of a series of lawsuits brought against the county in recent months over problems in the jail. Nine people have died since June 2018, and the U.S. Marshals Service said it found “inhumane” conditions during an inspection.

Corrections officers and the former warden and jail director have been indicted as part of ongoing probes by state and federal investigators.

Tyree was in the jail on escape and vandalism charges, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to escape on July 10, 2018, and was sentenced to nine months in the Lorain Correctional Institution.

Records show he is back in custody, being held on weapons, domestic violence and other charges. Common Pleas Judge Sherrie Miday referred him to the court’s psychiatric clinic on May 28 for an examination.

The suit lists the county and eight corrections officers as defendants. Five are unnamed, while those who are named are referred to only by surnames.

Attorney Jacqueline Greene, whose firm is also pursuing a separate lawsuit on behalf of several inmates over jail conditions, filed the suit.

Tyree was on the phone on July 7, 2018 when jail staff announced “pill call,” when prescribed medication is given to inmates, according to the suit.

The suit alleges that the officers hit, kicked and used pepper spray on Tyree before strapping him into a restraint chair. The officers later wheeled Tyree into a cell and left him there strapped to the chair for four hours, the suit says. He was taken to the medical unit after he was removed from the chair, according to the suit.