Hardel Sherrell

Hardel Sherrell, 27, was denied medical care and died at a county jail in Bemidji, Minnesota.
Hardel Sherrell arrived at the prison on August 24, 2018. He was arrested on charges of illegal possession of firearms. A few days later he told the guards and the prison nurse that he couldn’t feel anything from the waist down, but they accused him of faking it.
The next day, a doctor from a private medical company reviewed the prison nurse’s reports and recommended that the prisoner be taken to the emergency room. The jail officials did not follow the doctor’s recommendation, claiming Sherrell was an escape risk. On August 31, a nurse found him in a cell. His mouth was drooping, he was “covered in sweat and urine” and was wearing a diaper that had been soaked through. He was taken to a hospital, but he was again accused of faking it. Sherrell died a few hours later. An autopsy found he died of pneumonia and brain swelling.
Sherrell’s family filed a lawsuit against the city and the jail, accusing them of negligence. In February 2022, federal grand jury started investigation into Sherrell’s death.