The long-plagued juvenile detention center in Golden grew increasingly dangerous in recent months amid serious assaults on staff, drugs entering the facility and at least one violent threat that led the state to request additional police patrols, records and interviews show.
The Colorado Division of Youth Services, which oversees the state’s 12 juvenile detention and commitment facilities, last month transferred all 36 youth serving sentences for criminal convictions at the Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center to other facilities. State officials called it a temporary measure and remained vague about their reasoning.
But internal emails, police reports and interviews with current and former Division of Youth Services staff members show leadership grew increasingly worried as safety conditions deteriorated inside the Golden campus.
At 5:22 p.m. on July 29, the Golden Police Department received a call from Lookout Mountain’s director of operations, according to a police report. The director told authorities that staff overheard some of the youth residents talking about a planned contraband drop for the following day. (The report did not specify what the contraband would be.)
The young people “further instructed their associates making the drop to shoot police and staff if they are seen during the drop attempt,” the police report noted.
The Division of Youth Services staffer requested extra police patrols at Lookout Mountain for several days.
A current Lookout Mountain staff member, who spoke to The Denver Post on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly, said youth were talking about having someone smuggle a gun inside the facility in hopes of getting the detention center shut down. This individual said they did not hear any conversations about young people using the gun if they managed to sneak one in.
The Division of Youth Services declined interview requests for this story. In an email, a spokesperson said the decision to transfer youth from Lookout Mountain was not made in response to a single incident, but rather represented a “proactive effort.”
Allegations that the transfer of youth was to prevent contraband on the campus are false, said AnneMarie Harper, the division spokesperson. Staff never found a gun, she said.
Police called for assaults, contraband
Records show violence at Lookout Mountain was commonplace.
The division, since Jan. 1, recorded 35 fights and 94 assaults at the Golden complex. Fights are instances where all involved youth mutually intend to cause harm; assaults are characterized by a clear perpetrator and victim, according to the division.
Since March 1, police officers have responded 77 times to Lookout Mountain for a variety of calls, including assaults on youth and staff, sexual assault, riots, criminal mischief and contraband, Golden Police Department records show.
Twenty of these cases concerned assaults on staff by youth in their care.
Multiple employees suffered concussions after being punched repeatedly in the head, the reports detailed. Others were spit on, bitten, placed in headlocks and verbally threatened with violence.
Broken bones, excessive force and drug overdoses: Inside Colorado’s juvenile detention facilities
One worker said she threw up from pain after being thrown to the ground by multiple youth, according to a police report. Another sustained a perforated eardrum. Two staffers said they battled blurry vision from being hit in the head.
Youth who were already in custody were arrested on at least 24 separate charges during this period, records show, mostly for assaulting staff. It’s unclear how many young people were included in these charges, or whether prosecutors ultimately pursued them, as portions of the reports were redacted.
Harper, when asked about the staff assaults, said, “There is no acceptable level of violence at a youth center.”
‘Expecting to get jumped every day’
Chaz Chapman started working at Lookout Mountain in March and said he quickly realized how unsafe he felt.
The ex-staffer, who quit in August, said he was punched, elbowed or kicked by youth over 10 times and reported three or four assaults to police.
“I was expecting to get jumped every day,” Chapman said in an interview.
A big part of the problem, he said, was that staff never followed through on punishments for youth who broke the rules or engaged in violence. The young people quickly realized that they could get away with anything.
“We were basically never able to handle situations physically, and the kids knew that; they were stronger than 90% of their staff,” Chapman said. “The ones who stood in their way would get assaulted, such as myself.”
Harper cited the state’s trauma-informed model that balances “accountability and responsibility in providing treatment for youth, and issues rule violations for youth behavior, including possession of contraband, fights and assaults, and destruction of property. After being issued a rule violation, youth may be assigned interventions.”
Drugs also constantly made their way into the facility, current and former staff said. Of the more than 30 youth at Lookout Mountain during Chapman’s tenure, he estimated 20 to 25 of them were on drug plans — meaning they had tested positive for some illicit substance, including fentanyl.
Young people were comfortable smoking out in the open, he said, to the point where one could smell marijuana from outside the facility.
“Everyone who wanted drugs could get drugs,” Chapman said.
It’s no secret that people attempt to bring contraband into secure facilities, Harper said. Testing positive for substances in a facility does not mean they used drugs while in Division of Youth Services care, she said.
Youth who test positive for an illicit substance, or if staff suspect contraband has entered a facility, prompt investigations from leadership and may include limiting in-person visitation and developing a substance use treatment plan for the youth, she said.
‘We continue to struggle with basic safety’
Current and former staff pointed to untrained and overworked staff and a lack of organizational leadership and accountability as the root causes for Lookout Mountain’s deterioration.
Staff feel like they have no sense of control, they said, and do not feel supported by management. New hires don’t know what they’re getting into and quickly burn out.
“They would hire anyone who applied who didn’t have a criminal record,” Chapman said. “Any sane person would try and get the hell out of there as soon as they could.”
Chapman left the job in August, just weeks before the state emptied the facility.
Harper called the department’s hiring process “thorough and designed to ensure we bring on qualified candidates in all positions.” The state also conducts background checks and adheres to all board regulations.
On Aug. 25, the assistant director of the Division of Youth Services sent an email to Lookout Mountain staff.
“We continue to struggle with basic safety at Lookout,” Kristen Withrow wrote in the email, which was first reported by 9News. “We know staff are tired, calling off because they do not feel emotionally and physically safe. This pains us to watch. We’ve taken so many actions to try to increase safety for youth and staff, but we continue to not consistently impact.”
Withrow added that youth would be moved from Golden to other state detention centers “that are more safe and stable.”
A history of problems at Golden complex
Lookout Mountain has a long history of escapes, assaults and riots.
Five staff members in February were injured at the campus while responding to a series of violent incidents. A “small number” of youth also sustained minor injuries, according to DYS.
In 2019, there were five high-profile security issues at the Golden complex, including a staff member arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography, multiple escapes by violent young people and a riot between rival gangs, which injured three staff members.
The following year, the state split up Lookout Mountain into four distinct facilities, following evidence from other states that shows better outcomes at smaller centers. The state recently unified the complex back into a single facility, which can house up to 96 young people.
An investigation by The Post published in March found that Division of Youth Services facilities around the state have seen rampant allegations of excessive force by staff members, serious injuries sustained by teens while being physically restrained, and a litany of illicit drugs entering secure facilities, as well as several allegations of staff members engaging in sexual relationships with youth in their care.
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