Morning Briefing | How an autistic teen's death led to calls for a jail probe

The family of an autistic teen who died in custody at Montgomery County Jail last year is calling for a state investigation into the pretrial facility.

This continues a 16-month period of scrutiny since Isaiah Trammell died after striking his head multiple times while in custody and being put into a restraint chair.

I’m Kyle Nagel, a managing editor at the Dayton Daily News. I’ll be your author today for the Morning Briefing, which has a fresh look beginning this week to explain what’s happening and why it’s happening, plus give you the information you need to form your own opinions.

If you have thoughts, feedback or news tips, please let me know at [email protected].

Today, we look at the death of Trammell, from how the incident started to what happened in the jail to what has happened since.

The newsletter should take about 3.5 minutes to read.

The latest

• Trammell’s mother speaks: Reporter Sydney Dawes was at the Montgomery County Commission meeting on Tuesday when Trammell’s mother Brandy Abner spoke along with Trammell’s sister, Alexia, and members of the Montgomery County Jail Coalition. Abner described the treatment of her son in the jail as “torture.”

• Investigation requested: The Montgomery County Jail Coalition has called for a state-led investigation into the death of Trammell and other inmates at the pre-trial facility last year. Abner said she and her family support this effort.

Where did this begin?

• The death: Trammell, who was autistic and also had ADHD, was brought to Montgomery County Jail on a warrant in February 2023. Security footage from the jail shows him striking his head multiple times while in custody and being put into a restraint chair. He pleaded for medication before falling unconscious and being hospitalized and dying days later.

• Watch the video: Security video shows the incident.

• Sheriff’s office comment: The sheriff’s office said that the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections Bureau of Adult Detention reviewed the death of Trammell last year, finding no “deficiencies” in how the sheriff’s office handled the case.

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Deaths at the jail

• 7 in 2023: Trammell’s death was among seven reported from January through July last year, and in December a man died after being transferred from the jail to the hospital.

• Rising: Dayton Daily News reporting revealed more inmates died at the Montgomery County jail last year than all of 2021 and 2022 combined, leading to calls for the community to take action.

• Most in Ohio: Our analysis of state data also showed more people died after coming into custody at the Montgomery County jail last year than any other jail in Ohio. The Dayton Daily News investigated what was causing this rash of fatalities, and what county officials were doing about it.

What they’re saying

• “He begged for mercy. He begged for someone to listen. He begged for a phone call, for medicine. He begged for a simple drink of water. My son was tortured in that jail, the jail that you provide.”— Brandy Abner, mother of Isaiah Trammell, to the Montgomery County Commission

• “That was one of the very special things about Isaiah — every moment you spent with him was a teaching moment, whether for him or for you. And he was always so patient regardless of who was doing the learning. I don’t think there was a single day that myself and others didn’t learn something new about him or about autism.”— Spencer Wurzelbacher, who managed Trammell at a Lebanon restaurant

“There’s no words to express our deepest, deepest sympathies. Each one of those deaths was a tragedy nobody wanted to happen.” — Montgomery County Commission President Debbie Lieberman during Tuesday’s commission meeting

“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. 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.” — Christine Bevins, spokeswoman for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, in a statement earlier this month

What happens next?

• Possible investigation: Any investigation of the jail would not be led by the commission, county officials said, but commissioners are supportive of the coalition’s efforts to petition the state for a comprehensive review of the pre-trial facility.