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After son dies in county jail, a Minnesota mom takes her fight to court
A Twin Cities mom is fighting for justice after her seemingly healthy son died in custody just days after he was transferred to the Beltrami County Jail in Bemidji.
BEMIDJI, Minn. (FOX 9) - Nearly five years after Hardel Sherrell died in custody at Beltrami County Jail, we now know the details of a multi-million settlement his family will receive from the county and the medical provider that served the jail.
Beltrami County and MEnD Correctional Care will pay $2.6 million to the family of Sherrell after the 27-year-old died at the jail in 2018.
Sherrell arrived at the Bemidji jail in August 2018 in what appeared to be good health and high spirits. But his health quickly deteriorated, and he died less than a week after he arrived. Ramsey Medical Examiner ruled he died of pneumonia but his mother, Del Shea Perry, had her legal team run their own tests which determined Sherrell was suffering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
The Mayo Clinic describes it as a rare disorder where a body’s immune system attacks the nerves, eventually leaving a patient paralyzed.
Surveillance video inside the jail captured much of Sherrell’s suffering. Staff at the time allegedly believed Sherrell was faking his illness.
His mom subsequently filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in 2019 against those responsible for her son’s care leading to the settlement that was agreed upon last year.
In a statement through an attorney, Sherrell's mother Del Shea Perry said the fight for justice is "far from over":
No amount of money can bring Hardel back to his parents, children, loved ones, and friends. Hardel was loved by so many and he will never be forgotten by those whose lives he touched. While our wrongful death lawsuit is coming to conclusion, our fight for justice is far from over. We will not stop fighting until those responsible for Hardel's death are brought to justice. And we will not stop fighting until we end the cycle of senseless jail deaths that has plagued our state and destroyed families for so many years. We thank the Lord for giving us the strength and guidance to continue the fight for those who no longer have a voice. We are also thankful to Trahern Crews with BLM and all the other community activists for their ongoing support.