Colorado public defender says client attacked her in jail, sues sheriff

A Colorado society defender who says she was attacked by her client in the Arapahoe County Detention Center during a one-on-one meeting in which the client was not handcuffed or shackled sued the sheriff s office Monday over its handling of the affair Populace defender Anna Schamberg alleged in the lawsuit that Arapahoe County Sheriff s Office deputies should have handcuffed and shackled her client before allowing him to meet with her in a private room at the jail on June The deputies were slow to help when she pressed a panic button during the alleged attack the lawsuit alleged The Arapahoe County Sheriff s Office is vigorously defending itself against these states and cannot comment further since the litigation is at this time pending sheriff s spokeswoman Ginger Delgado mentioned in a comment Tuesday The episode two years ago began when Schamberg visited the Arapahoe County Detention Center in Centennial for a meeting with her client a then- -year-old man with a lengthy criminal record whom she d represented for two years In prior visits the man had perpetually been restrained in four-point shackles that is his hands were restrained to his waist but on this visit deputies did not handcuff or shackle the inmate before he was allowed to go into a room alone with Schamberg He became angry during their meeting Schamberg s lawsuit alleges When he picked up a computer and dropped it on the floor she pressed a panic button in the room that should have summoned deputies for help according to the lawsuit but deputies did not intervene The client then struck Schamberg in the face twice according to the lawsuit and she pressed the button a second time The client struck her a fourth time then left the room as deputies neared according to the lawsuit The Denver Post is not identifying the client because he was not charged with a crime in connection with the alleged attack Delgado declared the sheriff s office did not investigate the matter because deputies did not receive a complaint about it Related Articles Man violently arrested by ICE in Denver courthouse bathroom as young child watched witness says Barry Morphew indicted in murder of wife Suzanne Morphew more than years after original charges dropped How President Trump s shifting deportation push has played out in Colorado There s no small moves Former Denver coach discovered guilty of giving pot brownies to middle school students Denver students say their middle school facilitator gave them pot brownies She s now on trial The client should have been restrained for the duration of the meeting Schamberg alleges in the lawsuit and deputies should have been quicker to respond when she pressed the panic button The lawsuit noted that population defenders are assigned clients and do not choose who they represent Schamberg could not continue working in the jail after the attack and had to move to a different part of the state as she dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety the lawsuit alleges The community defender is seeking both a payout from the sheriff s office and structural changes to policies and procedures She d like to see the jail install panic buttons that emit a noise when triggered and thinks having such a button might have stopped her client s actions Schamberg could not be reached for comment Tuesday and her attorney did not return a request for comment A spokesman for the Colorado Office of the State Citizens Defender did not return a request for comment Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day