Disturbing footage shows a terrified autistic 19-year-old desperately asking cops to listen to him before he repeatedly slammed his head on a cell door and died.
Isaiah Trammell, was taunted, belittled and threatened by nine guards as he begged for his medication at the Montgomery County Jail in Ohio. He was taken there after he was arrested following a mental health episode in March, 2023.
After fatally-injuring himself, he was taken to a hospital where he later died.
In surveillance videos obtained by The Columbus Dispatch, officers are seen telling Trammell he was ‘ridiculous,’ ’embarrassing’ and ‘acting like an a**.’
He was strapped into a restraint chair twice and threatened a third time with severe consequences if he did not calm down.
But Trammell responded to the threats by banging his head on the cell door and screaming: ‘Let me out’
No-one listened as Trammell asked for his medications, a phone call and a blanket, according to the Dispatch.
Trammell was then rushed to hospital where he died three days later, with the coroner ruling it was suicide.
Trammell had been taken to jail after neighbors called police because he’d spent the night banging his head into a wall at his home.
He told officers banging his head on the wall was: ‘The only way I know to get rid of the crazy in my head’.
Officers booked Trammell when they discovered he was wanted on an outstanding misdemeanor domestic violence warrant. He had allegedly been abusive to his sister and her husband.
Trammell’s heartbroken mother Brandy Abner told The Columbus Patch that Trammel had a history of banging his head as a coping mechanism which often saw him end up in hospital.
She had not been aware of the outstanding warrant against her son.
‘We always call when he begins to rage – it’s a mental health call, not an “arrest me” call,’ she said.
The 19-year-old told officers he suffered from ADHD and did not want to live.
Trammell was put on suicide watch, meaning he was trip-searched and isolated in a safe cell.
However, according to the Dispatch, he wasn’t given a mattress, blanket or a suicide-resistant gown.
‘He hated his body to be exposed and he kept telling them. He hated to be confined. Absolutely that would trigger him,’ his mother said.
Officers allegedly kept him on the restraint chair for more than an hour, which is against Ohio standards for restraints.
The cops also continued to threaten to put Trammell into the chair a third time. The chair is supposed to be a last resort and used after providing medication.
When one officer said they couldn’t use the restraint chair, another cop replied: ‘Just put the chair in front of his fu***** cell so he stops. Give him a constant reminder.’
The Montgomery County Jail Coalition has called on the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC) to investigate Trammell’s death.
‘Isaiah would be alive today had he been treated with dignity and respect in the jail by staff concerned for his health and well-being. Instead of listening to his cries for medication he was laughed at and ignored. We need accountability for what happened to him,’ said Yvonne Currington, retired nurse and Jail Coalition member.
The Sheriff’s office told Dayton Daily News on Monday that ODRC’s Bureau of Detention found no ‘deficiencies’ in how the sheriff’s office handled his death.
‘Medical and mental health providers at the jail provided treatment to Trammell from the time he was booked into jail until he was transported to a local hospital,’ said the sheriff’s office spokeswoman Christine Bevins.
‘Although people facing charges for violent crimes shouldn’t be released to society to deal with, our community needs a medical facility with a lockdown unit that can better handle those who are in crisis.’