Based largely on a photograph of a gaping wrist wound, a federal judge on Thursday ordered the Logan County sheriff to immediately transport a suicidal detainee to the emergency room for treatment.

However, the man’s attorneys have since asserted the sheriff’s office disobeyed the directive.

The unusual case unfolded rapidly once lawyers for Michael Bretz filed a motion for a temporary restraining order on March 29, describing how Bretz repeatedly and seriously harmed himself, most recently by reopening a large cut on his inner arm during an appearance in state court.

Operating solely on Bretz’s allegations and the picture of his exposed tissue, U.S. District Court Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson ordered the sheriff to take Bretz to the hospital, even before the county had a chance to respond.

“Just judging by the photograph it seems apparent that medical attention is necessary,” Jackson wrote on March 30. “An unnecessary trip (if it turns out to have been unnecessary) is a relatively minor inconvenience. The harm that could potentially be caused by an untreated open infection could be quite serious.”

Bretz stands accused of several child sex offenses in Logan County. According to his lawsuit, filed the same day as the temporary restraining order, Bretz was arrested in late February. He attempted to kill himself by slicing into his wrist and his throat. After receiving medical attention, Bretz remained on suicide watch in the Denver County Jail until his transfer to Logan County.

However, once Bretz arrived in northeast Colorado, “I observed that the cut on his wrist was more than I was told,” Lt. Jared Harty wrote to the state court on March 7. “Due to the severity of the cut on his arm, the Logan County Jail is unable to provide the medical care that will be required.”

Harty asked the state judge to release Bretz on bond so he could receive help, and Bretz was permitted to leave. 

On March 21, a second investigation into Bretz resulted in his arrest again. The following day, during an appearance in court, Bretz allegedly attempted to kill himself once more.

“I was present in the courtroom with him during his bond hearing when he attempted to bite the tendons out of his wrist,” public defender Kathrine McLaughlin wrote in a statement to the federal court.

Incarcerated again, Bretz’s wound reportedly began “smelling badly and oozing a green substance.” Harty allegedly said he did not have the staff to take Bretz to the hospital. On March 29, Bretz told McLaughlin his hand “has turned purple” and his temperature was 103 degrees. Bretz was worried “he is going to lose his hand,” McLaughlin wrote.

That same day, a law firm based in Texas filed a civil lawsuit in federal court, alleging jail personnel were deliberately indifferent to Bretz’s serious medical needs. The accompanying motion for a temporary restraining order also requested immediate transport to a hospital.

The federal court randomly assigned Bretz’s case to U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang. Because she was out of the courthouse, Jackson stepped in. Jackson noticed Bretz’s lawyers apparently did not try to notify the sheriff’s office of their request, so he attempted to triage the case.

Working with Wang’s staff, Jackson learned the defendants – Harty, Sheriff Brett Powell and Undersheriff Ken Kimsey – wanted to talk to their attorneys first. In addition, Powell was on vacation.

Little over 24 hours after the filing of Bretz’s case, Jackson ordered the sheriff’s office to take Bretz to the emergency room immediately. Roughly 90 minutes later, at 5:39 p.m. on March 30, Bretz’s attorneys presented the order to the Logan County jail.

However, the jail allegedly did not transport Bretz immediately. Instead, parole officials reportedly arrived the next morning to transport Bretz to an intake facility in Denver. Quickly, Bretz’s attorneys requested contempt proceedings to begin against the defendants for violating Jackson’s order.

Noting that he wanted the defendants “to have a reasonable opportunity to respond,” Jackson ordered the sheriff’s officials on Friday to answer to Bretz’s accusations by Monday at 10 a.m.

On Sunday, the defendants asked for an extension to 5 p.m., which Wang granted upon her return Monday morning.

Also on Monday morning, James P. Roberts, one of Bretz’s attorneys, told Colorado Politics his client’s current placement in Denver should enable him to receive medical care, but he is unsure of Bretz’s status.

“I have not been able to speak with our client since his transfer and am unsure what medical care, if any, he has received since leaving the Logan County Jail,” Roberts said. “Regardless for what excuse they provide, a Federal Court issued an order directing the Logan County Jail to immediately take Mr. Bretz to the hospital, and they chose not to comply.”

Colorado Politics emailed Powell, the sheriff, on Friday night seeking clarification. Powell did not respond.

The case is Bretz v. Powell et al.