Family of man who died in Hennepin County Jail files federal lawsuit
Updated: Jan. 24, 6:40 a.m.
The family of a man who died in the Hennepin County Jail in 2022 has filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that “deliberate indifference” to his medical needs led to his death.
Lucas Bellamy — the son of Twin Cities theater legend and Penumbra Theatre founder Lou Bellamy — died in July 2022, three days after he was booked into jail. He was 41 years old.
Bellamy’s family said he suffered for several days from a perforated intestine and was in agonizing pain, and they allege jail staff ignored his repeated pleas for help, and ignored guidance from medical providers who had treated Bellamy earlier.
“Lucas could have been easily saved with proper treatment,” the lawsuit alleges. “Instead, he endured a real-life nightmare and died.”
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At a news conference on Tuesday, attorneys for the family showed clips of surveillance videos from the jail, showing Bellamy crawling on his hands and knees. The lawsuit states that jail records indicate Bellamy screamed “help me,” complained of stomach pain and asked to be taken to the hospital early on the morning of the day he died.
Members of the Bellamy family spoke at Tuesday’s news conference before the video clips were played.
“I’ve made my living as a theater director. I know how to construct tragedy on stage. And I can tell you honestly, that I could not have built anything more callous, more disrespectful to humanity, human existence, than what I witnessed on that tape,” Lou Bellamy said.
“These people in charge of his life knowingly and deliberately decided to do nothing to help him in his moment of crisis, and it was obvious to all that he was in crisis,” Lucas Bellamy’s mother, Colleen Bellamy, said at the news conference.
“They watched, the clock ticked, minute by minute — until finally there was nothing left for him,” she said.
The lawsuit names Hennepin County, Hennepin Healthcare and four individual staff members — three nurses and a sheriff’s deputy working at the jail.
It says that since 2015, there have been more deaths at the Hennepin County Jail than any other correctional facility in the state — and outlines what it claims is “a history of deliberate indifference” toward people incarcerated at the jail.
“There are systemic issues here, and the family wants accountability and it wants justice for Lucas’ death,” their attorney, Jeff Storms, said Tuesday. “But the family also wants to make sure that this never happens to anyone else again.”
In additional to seeking damages, Storms said, they’re also calling for further investigation.
“Somebody else needs to investigate the death of Lucas Bellamy, and it cannot be the county and it cannot be the DOC,” Storms said, referring to the Minnesota Department of Corrections. “We think the Attorney General’s Office should investigate this individually, and we also think the Department of Justice needs to start a patterns and practice investigation of the Hennepin County Jail because more people die in that jail than any other jail in Minnesota.”
In a statement issued late Tuesday afternoon, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office said it can’t specifically comment on the ongoing lawsuit. But it said “our deepest sympathies go out to the Bellamy family and to all those affected by Mr. Bellamy’s death. We remain committed to professionally serving all people in our facilities and under our care with compassion, dignity, and respect.”
Hennepin Healthcare issued a statement on Tuesday night, also saying it can’t comment on pending litigation. “As a healthcare organization committed to serving our community, we join with others in sending our condolences to the family for the loss of their son,” the statement said.
KARE 11, which had already been investigating Lucas Bellamy’s death, said Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt declined interview requests about the case dating back to March 2023.
Lucas Bellamy had been arrested July 18, 2022, for allegedly fleeing police in western Hennepin County. He was also facing felony drug and firearm charges, a DWI count, stolen property charges and numerous driving violations.
The lawsuit states he told jail staff that he had ingested a bag of drugs. He was taken to Hennepin Healthcare that morning, monitored for a few hours, and discharged with direction to return for any “new concerning symptoms.”
The lawsuit states Bellamy became ill early on July 20, and his condition worsened that evening — to the point where he was seen crawling from his cell in the surveillance video. The lawsuit claims he wasn’t given the medical care he needed, and that staff failed to follow directions to return Bellamy to the hospital.
He was found face-down in his cell at 12:30 p.m. on July 21, and declared dead about 45 minutes later.
Bellamy’s family at the time of death, and again on Tuesday described him as a smart, generous person and devoted father to his son, whose life was derailed by addiction.
“Lucas was not how he died. He was not his addiction. He was a beautiful soul, whose sensitive heart was often overwhelmed by the beauty and the ugliness of this world,” his sister, Penumbra Theatre President Sarah Bellamy, said Tuesday. “And he did the best he could, for as long as he could, fighting a demon that stranded him away from his loved ones who would have done anything, anything to save his life, and to spare him from such prolonged and excruciating pain.”