Jury convicts former deputies of manslaughter

BOULDER COUNTY» Two former sheriff’s deputies were found guilty of manslaughter in the 2018 death of 23-year-old Demetrius Shankling on Friday, with the jury deliberating for about eight hours.

The joint trial for James O’brien, 52, and Adam Lunn, 39, began last week, with testimony wrapping up Thursday after the men declined to testify.

During closing arguments Friday morning, the prosecution told the jury that the deputies acted recklessly and disregarded training. Attorneys for O’brien and Lunn called the case a tragic accident and argued that there were other factors that contributed to Shankling’s death.

According to an arrest affidavit, O’brien and Lunn were called by Boulder police to pick up Shankling at 2:20 a.m. Sept. 9, 2018. The affidavit said that the two deputies were working an extra shift doing transport duties for the Addiction Recovery Center.

According to body camera and transport van surveillance, the deputies placed Shankling on his stomach, with his hands behind his back, in one of the transport van’s holding compartments, which contain benches with seat belts.

The passenger-side rear compartment, where Shankling was placed, is less than 5 feet long, and Shankling was 6 feet tall, according to the affidavit. For Shankling to fit, the man’s legs had to be lifted off the floor.

The affidavit says the deputies pressed on the compartment door to get it shut.

This caused Shankling’s left leg to get wedged against the inside of the door, according to the affidavit.

While being transported to the Addiction Recovery Center, Shankling was in the van for 16 minutes. When the deputies arrived at the center, they found Shankling unresponsive and not breathing.

Assistant District Attorney Ken Kupfner and Senior Deputy District Attorney Christian Gardnerwood said Shankling should never have been placed in a transport space that was less than 5 feet long.

“To be clear, Demetrius Shankling died because of James O’brien and Adam Lunn and their reckless conduct and reckless action,” Gardner-wood said. “It’s not the sheriff’s office’s fault, not the van’s fault.”

Kupfner recapped from his opening arguments that the deputies had training on positional asphyxia which, along with the combined toxic effects of alcohol and amphetamine, led to Shankling’s death.

Defense attorney Carrie Slinkard, though, argued that the deputies had little familiarity with the transport van.

Slinkard said her clients have had the weight of this incident on their shoulders for three years.

“I want to start by acknowledging the tragedy,” Slinkard said. “Absolutely, hands down, this was a tragic event, and that needs to be considered,” Slinkard said.

Gardner-wood said Shankling spent 27 days in a coma before his death.

An autopsy report concluded that Shankling died from “positional asphyxia with the combined toxic effects of ethanol and amphetamine contributing,” and the death was ruled a homicide.

After the incident, both deputies were initially placed on administrative leave in September 2018.

Their employment with the sheriff’s office ended in March 2019 after an internal investigation.