Officials: 3 Denver County Deputies Injured After Inmate Attack

DENVER (CBS4) - Three Denver County sheriff's deputies are recovering after they were hurt trying to control an inmate.

The altercation happened at the downtown detention center on Tuesday afternoon when the deputies went into a cell to try an stop an inmate who was harming himself.

Officials say the suspect, Shyheem Temple, started fighting the deputies. Two of them sustained head injuries, and the third had a wrist injury.

"My commitment as Sheriff is to continue we look at all these incidents and learn from them. Is there additional training we need to provide? Is there additional tools we want to provide? I'm committed to making sure we provide the safest place possible," said Patrick Firman, the Denver County Sheriff.

Temple was being held on $100 bond for shoplifting. He now also faces charges for assaulting peace officers.

The Denver County Sheriff's Department provided these details regarding the number of assaults on deputies, the number of bookings in 2018 and the number of sworn vacancies.

• As of July 21, 2018, we've had 70 physical assaults reported throughout the entire department. Out of those 70, 30 reported various injuries.  Of those 30, two resulted in a transport to the hospital by ambulance.
• For this same period in 2017, there were a total of 67 physical assaults reported throughout the entire department. Out of those 67,  33 reported various injuries. Of those 33, four were transported to the hospital by ambulance.
• From January 1, 2018 to June 30 2018 the Denver Sheriff Department had 18,344 bookings. I include this data, so can compare this to the number of assaults.
• Sworn staff vacancies 53 – 31 (recruits in the current academy) = 22 vacancies once the current academy class graduates on  October 5.