Top Minnesota jail inspector resigns amid investigation
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The top official in charge of jail inspections and licensing at the Minnesota Department of Corrections is out Tuesday after an internal investigation into his job performance, including his review oversight of a high-profile Beltrami County Jail death from 2018.
Sources told FOX 9 that Tim Thompson resigned, meaning any findings will remain confidential.
Thompson and the DOC originally came under fire following the death of Hardel Sherrell, an inmate who died at the Beltrami County jail two years ago in Bemidji. Sherrell’s dying moments from a deteriorating health condition over the course of several days, captured on camera, were described by his mother Del Shea Perry as criminal and torturous.
“I’m just kinda angry,” said Perry. “Like, how are we supposed to hold these people accountable because they need to be held accountable for what they’ve done.”
This 27-year-old died in Beltrami County Jail and his family sued the county, the jail and the medical professionals they say misdiagnosed the man, leading to his death.
Because of state privacy laws, Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell couldn’t say much about Thompson’s departure. Still, he said he wishes he could say more. “There’s no better disinfectant that sunshine,” he said.
An initial DOC review of Sherrell’s death found no violation of jailhouse procedures as staff and medical personnel claimed the 27-year-old was faking his symptoms and was considered a flight risk.
Schnell subsequently ordered a re-review of the investigation.
Letters written in the immediate aftermath by a concerned member of Sherrell’s care team eventually surfaced calling the response to the inmate’s deteriorating health condition “neglectful.”
Schnell said the DOC must do better going forward.
“We are going to enact policies and procedures and protocols as a regulatory body to reduce the risk of our inmates across the state including our own DOC prisons,” said Schnell. “I am 100 percent committed to that.”
In the meantime, the FBI continues to investigate any potential criminal wrongdoing that may have occurred inside the Beltrami County Jail as it relates to Sherrell’s death.