Source note: This story is based on multiple sources, including official statements and records from Boulder County and the Twentieth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, along with local and Associated Press reporting. The official Boulder County Sheriff’s Office case number listed for the incident is 18-5352.
Former Boulder County Sheriff’s Office deputies James E. O’Brien and Adam C. Lunn were convicted of manslaughter in the death of 23-year-old Demetrius Shankling after a September 2018 sheriff’s transport to a detox facility ended with Shankling found unconscious in a jail transport van.
Incident Reports And Investigative Findings
According to Boulder County’s official statements, Shankling was found unconscious in a jail transport van in the early morning hours of September 9, 2018, and died at a Denver hospital on October 6, 2018. The sheriff’s office later identified the case as Boulder County Sheriff’s Office case number 18-5352.
Reporting by the Associated Press, published by The Colorado Sun, cited an arrest affidavit stating that O’Brien and Lunn placed the 6-foot-tall Shankling, whose hands were behind his back, into a van compartment that was less than 5 feet long. The AP report said the deputies pressed on the compartment door to close it, causing Shankling’s leg to become wedged against the inside of the door.
Denver7 reported that Shankling was highly intoxicated and was being taken to Boulder’s Addiction Recovery Center for detox. The same report said deputies are trained to transport intoxicated subjects upright, seat-belted, and with constant monitoring by another officer or deputy. Denver7 also reported that Shankling was found unresponsive after a 16-minute transport.
The AP report said an autopsy found Shankling died of suffocation because of his positioning, with alcohol and amphetamine listed as contributing factors. KGNU reported that the coroner ruled the death a homicide and that the cause involved positional asphyxia from being compressed inside the transport-van compartment.
Charges
On February 4, 2019, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office announced that the Twentieth Judicial District Attorney’s Office had obtained arrest warrants for O’Brien and Lunn. Each deputy was charged with manslaughter, a class 4 felony.
At the time of the charging announcement, Boulder County said O’Brien was 49 and had joined the sheriff’s office in 1998. Boulder County said Lunn was 36, joined the sheriff’s office as a civilian crew boss in 2009, and was promoted to deputy in 2011. The sheriff’s office said both had been on paid administrative leave since September 9, 2018, pending internal administrative review.
Trial And Convictions
On September 2, 2021, the Twentieth Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced that a jury had found O’Brien and Lunn guilty of manslaughter on August 27, 2021, following a two-week trial.
The district attorney’s release said a key trial issue was whether prosecutors proved recklessness, defined in the release as conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death. The release also said the prosecution had to prove that the deputies’ actions caused Shankling’s death, a point disputed by defense expert witnesses.
The district attorney’s release stated that many events from that night were captured on body-worn cameras and on a camera inside the transport van. After Sheriff Joe Pelle watched the videos, according to the release, he notified the Boulder County Investigation Team and requested an independent investigation.
Sentencing
On November 4, 2021, Boulder County announced that the Boulder County District Court had sentenced the two former deputies. Boulder County’s sentencing statement listed Adam C. Lunn’s sentence as three years in the Department of Corrections followed by three years of mandatory parole. James E. O’Brien’s sentence was listed as six years in the Department of Corrections followed by three years of mandatory parole.
Official Statements
In the district attorney’s September 2021 release, District Attorney Michael Dougherty said the defendants’ conduct was recognized by law enforcement and the jury as inexcusable, and he credited Sheriff Pelle for requesting an investigation by the Critical Incident Team.
In Boulder County’s November 2021 sentencing statement, Sheriff Joe Pelle called the case a tragedy for Shankling, Shankling’s family, the former deputies, and their families. Pelle stated that the death did not need to occur, said he believed the former deputies intended no harm, and described the situation as horrible and preventable.
Lawsuits
The sources reviewed for this story did not identify a civil lawsuit or settlement arising directly from Shankling’s death. Separately, KGNU reported that O’Brien had been named in an earlier lawsuit brought by Robert Cotton Kirkland over injuries alleged to have occurred in the Boulder County jail in 2011. KGNU reported that the earlier case ultimately ended with a jury ruling in favor of the officers. That earlier lawsuit is separate from the Shankling manslaughter case.
Uncorroborated Claims
No uncorroborated claims are included in this story. The case details above are attributed to official Boulder County records, the Twentieth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, court-result reporting, arrest-affidavit reporting, and KGNU’s separately attributed lawsuit report.
