Handcuffed Colo. inmate hurt in jump from courtroom window

This is an undated booking photograph provided by the Denver Police Department that shows Josephus Haynes. Police report that Haynes, legs shackled and hands in cuffs, jumped from a window at the Denver City/County Building while at a court appearance on Wednesday, May 7, 2008, and was seriously injured. (AP Photo/Denver Police Department)

DENVER—An inmate in handcuffs and shackles jumped through a closed window in a third-floor courtroom, shattering the glass, plunging to the ground and critically injuring himself, police said.

The man, in court on a misdemeanor assault charge, had been told to go before the judge at the Denver City and County Building, a witness said.

"And he was just sitting there, turned around and he went headfirst out the third-story window," Ty Berrien told KCNC-TV in Denver.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Josephus Haynes' goal was escape or suicide, police said.

Haynes was in critical condition, authorities said. He was lying on a grate outside the building when emergency workers arrived, said Fire Lt. Phil Champagne.