Judge Dismisses Suit Filed After Stearns County Inmate Death

ST. CLOUD (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed following a Stearns County Jail inmate's death in 2012 after being subdued by a stun gun.

The estate of 22-year-old Jerome Deon Ladette Harrell sued the county and several sheriff's department personnel following his death. U.S. District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle dismissed the lawsuit last month.

Harrell had turned himself in because of outstanding warrants for failing to have proof of motor vehicle insurance.  Harrell behaved erratically in jail, and officers restrained him and one used a stun gun. Harrell went into cardiac arrest and died.

Kyle ruled the force used by officers wasn't objectively unreasonable and that they weren't deliberately indifferent to Harrell's safety and well-being.

Harrell's estate's attorney filed a notice earlier this month that he intends to appeal the dismissal.