Isaiah Trammell Settlement: Ohio Jail Death Lawsuit and NaphCare

No settlement has been reached in the Isaiah Trammell case. The federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Trammell’s estate over his March 2023 death at the Montgomery County Jail in Dayton, Ohio, remains in active litigation as of mid-2026, with no public settlement announced by Montgomery County or NaphCare, the jail’s medical provider.¹

What the Lawsuit Alleges

The estate of Isaiah Trammell filed suit on March 10, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, case number 3:25-cv-00086.² The family is represented by attorney Sarah Gelsomino.³

The complaint names Montgomery County, the Montgomery County Board of County Commissioners, NaphCare Inc., and twelve individual deputies and medical staff members. Claims are brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the federal civil rights statute, and allege that defendants ignored Trammell’s “serious medical and psychiatric needs,” failed to provide constitutionally adequate medical care, and “openly treated him with contempt, goading and mocking him.” The complaint also argues that the county had prior notice of unconstitutional denial of medical services at the jail before Trammell’s death.⁴

The family is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees, and has requested a jury trial. According to the family’s attorneys, the suit also aims to “seek change for others incarcerated in the Montgomery County Jail, especially those with autism.”⁴

Where the Case Stands

The most recent public docket activity is a stipulated protective order signed by Magistrate Judge Caroline H. Gentry on May 7, 2026. That kind of order governs how confidential documents and discovery materials are handled between the parties, and it indicates the case is in the discovery phase rather than near resolution.⁵ Montgomery County has declined to comment on the specifics of the case, citing the pending litigation. NaphCare has not responded to requests for comment.¹

What Happened to Isaiah Trammell

Trammell was a 19-year-old with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD. Around 12:30 a.m. on March 13, 2023, Lebanon, Ohio, police responded to a neighbor’s call after hearing Trammell yell during a phone conversation with his uncle. He was in severe anxiety and had been banging his head, a self-soothing behavior associated with his autism. His family later said the call was meant as a mental health welfare check.⁶

Officers discovered an outstanding misdemeanor domestic violence warrant that the family said neither Trammell nor his relatives knew existed.⁷ Instead of going to a hospital, Trammell was transferred to Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies and booked into the jail around 1:00 a.m.⁶

During intake, Trammell told medical staff he was autistic, had ADHD, and was feeling suicidal. He was placed on suicide watch in a bare concrete cell. Medical staff recommended a mattress and blanket; he received neither. He was given a suicide-resistant smock and denied his medications.⁴

Surveillance video later obtained by journalists showed Trammell banging his head against his cell door and window. At about 4:15 a.m., deputies strapped him into a restraint chair by his wrists, ankles, and chest. He stayed in the chair roughly two hours, including a full hour after he had calmed down. That extended restraint violated Ohio’s jail standards, which treat immobilizing restraints as a last resort and require ongoing reassessment.⁶

Throughout his time in custody, Trammell repeatedly asked for his medication, a blanket, water, and a phone call. The video captured deputies calling him “ridiculous,” “embarrassing,” and saying he was “acting like an ass.” Officers discussed placing the restraint chair in front of his cell as a “constant reminder” and at one point threatened him with ten hours in the chair. A NaphCare nurse briefly spoke with him and walked away after he continued shouting, saying on video, “OK, I’m done.”⁸ A second restraint episode followed, in which five officers pinned Trammell to the floor before strapping him into the chair again.⁶

Less than ten hours after booking, Trammell began losing consciousness. Staff photographed the swelling on his head and called paramedics. He died three days after hospitalization.¹

Official Findings

The Montgomery County Coroner ruled Trammell’s death a suicide, citing complications of blunt force head trauma from his striking his head against the cell walls.¹ The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office conducted an internal investigation and concluded staff “did nothing wrong and provided Trammell with appropriate care.” Sheriff Rob Streck defended that finding publicly but acknowledged Trammell “shouldn’t have been in jail, given his mental health issues.”⁶ The family contests the suicide ruling, arguing the surveillance footage shows staff created the conditions that drove a teenager in a mental health crisis to injure himself fatally.⁷

A state review reached different conclusions. In July 2024, the Ohio Bureau of Adult Detention reported the Montgomery County Jail was in violation of state jail standards in connection with the case, citing noncompliance with security observation checks, pre-screening procedures, and intoxication and detox protocols. The sheriff’s office submitted remediation plans and said it “immediately made changes where needed.”⁹

The Christian Black $7 Million Settlement

Anyone tracking the Trammell case for a possible settlement figure has one nearby comparison. Christian Black, 25, died at the same jail on March 24, 2025, after being restrained by roughly ten officers following an arrest for an alleged carjacking. Officers placed him face down, used pepper spray and a taser, and secured him in a restraint chair with a spit hood while applying pressure to his neck and back. The coroner ruled Black’s death a homicide caused by positional asphyxia.¹⁰

In September 2025, Montgomery County reached a $7 million settlement with Black’s family, the largest in county history.¹¹ That settlement resolved the county’s liability but not the claims against NaphCare, whose employees were present during Black’s restraint and were alleged to have delayed lifesaving care.¹⁰ No criminal charges were filed against jail personnel in Black’s death, though Sheriff Streck released one corrections officer from probationary employment, acknowledging that the time Black spent bent over in the chair “was not consistent with the guidelines we follow to avoid positional asphyxia.”¹²

The Black case is a separate lawsuit with separate facts, and it does not set a legal floor or ceiling for what the Trammell estate may recover. It does establish what the county has been willing to pay to resolve a restraint-related jail death.

NaphCare as a Co-Defendant

NaphCare, the Alabama-based company that has provided medical, dental, and psychiatric services at the Montgomery County Jail since 2002, is a defendant in both the Trammell and Black cases. The company operates in jails across 32 states and generates roughly $1 billion in annual revenue. A 2020 Reuters investigation found that jails contracted with NaphCare had the highest inmate death tolls of any healthcare provider in the country.⁸

The company has paid to resolve similar allegations elsewhere. In 2021, NaphCare paid nearly $700,000 to settle federal False Claims Act allegations related to overcharging jails. In 2022, a Washington state jury awarded $27 million to the estate of a woman who died after being denied anti-seizure medication in NaphCare’s care.⁸ In February 2025, NaphCare paid $650,000 of a $750,000 settlement in a New York jail suicide case involving alleged deliberate indifference to mental health needs.¹³ In March 2026, New York’s Attorney General banned NaphCare from contracting with any government entity in the state for five years after an investigation linked the company to three inmate deaths at a single facility, imposing an additional $875,000 penalty.¹⁴

Montgomery County renewed NaphCare’s contract in January 2024 for $7.6 million.⁸ As of mid-2026, the county has opened a competitive bidding process for jail medical services for the 2027 contract year, with a vendor expected to be selected in October or November 2026. NaphCare is eligible to compete.¹⁵

1
WLWT. Montgomery County Jail Autism Death Isaiah Trammell
2
GovInfo. Trammell v. Montgomery County et al.
3
WDTN. Family Sues County, Jail Medical Provider Over 19-Year-Old’s Death
4
Cincinnati Enquirer. An Autistic Man Died in an Ohio Jail. His Family Is Suing for Change
5
PACER Monitor. Trammell v. Montgomery County et al. – Stipulated Protective Order
6
The Columbus Dispatch. Video Shows How an Autistic Teen Died After 10 Hours in an Ohio Jail
7
Prison Legal News. Video of Autistic Ohio Teen’s Jail Death Undercuts Sheriff’s Report Calling It Suicide
8
The Guardian. NaphCare Healthcare Jails
9
WYSO. Grassroots Group Responds to Investigation Over Recent Deaths at Montgomery County Jail
10
WYSO. Montgomery County Jail Settles $7M Lawsuit With the Family of Christian Black
11
CNN. Christian Black Jail Restraint Settlement
12
Dayton 24/7 Now. Montgomery County Sheriff Responds After Officers Avoid Charges in Inmate Death Case
13
Prison Legal News. $750,000 Paid by NaphCare for New York Jail Suicide
14
New York Attorney General. Attorney General James Bars Correctional Health Care Provider From New York
15
WHIO. Montgomery County Seeks New Medical Mental Health Provider for Jail Services