Minnesota jail workers ignored inmate’s pleas for help as he crawled around on the floor of prison in pain before he died of perforated bowel, lawsuit claims

A Minnesota man died in agony in a prison after crawling on the floor for days and begging staff for help, his family claims.

Lucas Bellamy, 41, died behind bars on July 21, 2022 from a perforated intestine.

Shocking footage from inside the Hennepin County Jail shows Bellamy on his hands and knees on the concrete as staff look on. At one point he has difficulty pulling himself onto a chair. A guard leans against the wall and watches as Bellamy writhes in pain.

On Tuesday, his parents and sister held a news conference to demand justice for Lucas and reforms in the way inmates are treated.

They said Lucas was treated as if “he was inhuman, as if he were an animal.”

Bellamy is seen crawling on the floor in pain as the staff watches

Bellamy, who had a long history of drug abuse, had been arrested for driving a stolen car and having brass knuckles

He initially went to hospital but was discharged with instructions to return if things got worse. Bellamy was visibly unable to stand, but was still not taken back to the hospital

His father Louis Bellamy, founder of the famed Penumbra Theater in St. Paul, said the horror of Lucas’ death was beyond anything any director could ever create.

‘I earned my living as a theater director. “I know how to construct a tragedy on stage,” he said on Tuesday.

“And I can honestly tell you that I couldn’t have built anything more insensitive and disrespectful to humanity and human existence than what I saw on that tape.

“It cannot go unanswered, those people who chose to ignore his pleas for help.”

Lucas was arrested on July 18, 2022 on charges of fleeing police in a suspected stolen vehicle and possession of brass knuckles.

During the jail admission, Lucas, who had a long history of battling drug addiction, told staff he ingested a bag of drugs and was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, known as HCMC, the complaint said.

He was monitored and returned to jail with instructions to return to the emergency department if he showed any symptoms.

The Bellamy family’s attorney, Jeff Storms, showed the news media video of Lucas’ interactions with nurses and prison guards.

The final clip revealed him standing just behind his cell door, the lower half of his body slowly moving around until he fell still and died – four days after his arrest.

“Lucas spent the last day of his life … desperately begging nurses and prison guards to see a doctor,” the complaint says.

‘Lucas could have been saved with the right treatment. Instead, he suffered a real nightmare and died.”

Bellamy is seen on his bed in prison, in agony. He died of a perforated intestine

Bellamy is seen curled up on the ground, unable to stand

The Bellamy family is now seeking justice for their son and wants to shed light on other deaths in prison

Sarah Bellamy, Lucas’ sister, said she hopes no other family will experience theirs’ pain

The lawsuit, obtained by The Star Stand, named as individual defendants nurses Roselene Omweri, Kay Willis and Michelle Diaz, and Deputy Lucas Weatherspoon. Hennepin County and the medical center are also named in the lawsuit.

Colleen Bellamy, Lucas’ mother, said the workers assigned to her son’s care “stepped back, as if this little, skinny, helpless human being was a danger to them.”

She added: ‘He had begged, he had crawled on all fours until he couldn’t even move on all fours. He just collapsed, like Jell-O.”

Lucas’ sister, Sarah, said their family hopes the lawsuit will shed light on the 14 other cases of inmates who have died in prison since 2015 amid allegations of neglect.

“We hope as a family that by raising awareness about how my brother died, we can prevent the abuse and deliberate neglect that Lucas suffered,” she told reporters.

Storms, the attorney, said he is calling on Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to investigate.

“Lucas could have been saved with proper treatment,” the complaint said. ‘Instead he suffered a real nightmare and died.’

Storms added, “Too often they look at these individuals and have the attitude that you’re in jail.

‘We think you’re pretending, we think you’re lying to us. We believe that you are not worth our care.

“They have every stupid reason you can think of, if any of us can look at this and say this guy needs a doctor.”