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Breckenridge police accuse woman of kicking, spitting on them

Shawna Barclay Calhoun, 21.
Summit County Sheriff’s Office

A 21-year old woman was arrested in Breckenridge last week on charges of second- and third-degree assault. Police said she drunkenly kicked and spat on law enforcement officers from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Breckenridge Police Department and the Frisco Police Department.

In the early morning of Dec. 11, officers from the Breckenridge PD and the sheriff’s office responded to a call on 4 O’Clock Road in Breckenridge in reference to an intoxicated woman who had just ran from her Uber. The Uber driver told the officers that the woman, later identified as Shawna Barclay Calhoun, was lost and not dressed appropriately for the weather.

Once on the scene, officers were able to make contact with Calhoun. They noted that she was having trouble standing and fell down a snow bank behind the Snowflake ski lift at Breckenridge Ski Resort, according to court documents. Officers also reported that the woman was emotionally distressed, and that she was screaming threats that she might harm herself.



The sheriff’s deputy asked Calhoun to go back to his patrol vehicle to warm up, and she complied, though the incident quickly took a turn to the confrontational. Calhoun allegedly became aggressive and started screaming profanities at the officers. While leaning against the car she slipped and fell again, and started kicking both of the officers when they tried to pick her up, according to the arrest affidavit. At that point Calhoun was placed into handcuffs and taken into custody.

The sheriff’s deputy transported Calhoun to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco, citing her level of intoxication, where he was joined by an officer from the Frisco Police Department. As the two walked Calhoun toward the emergency department door she allegedly became violent once again, and started kicking the Frisco officer. Additionally, Calhoun allegedly spit at both of the officers, hitting one in the neck and the other directly in the face.



Calhoun was medically cleared at the hospital and immediately booked into the Summit County Detentions Facility. On Dec. 13 the district attorney’s office brought five charges against Calhoun, including three counts of misdemeanor assault in the third degree for allegedly kicking the officers. Calhoun was also charged with two counts of felony assault in the second degree for spitting on the officers.

According to the Colorado Revised Statutes (18-3-203(1)(h)), it is illegal to cause a peace officer to come into contact with saliva — along with other bodily fluids like blood, mucus or vomit — for any reason for fear of spreading communicable diseases. In one officer’s statement, he noted that he was advised that he was at risk of developing a communicable disease during his workman’s compensation exposure exam due to Calhoun’s saliva entering his eyes and nose.

Calhoun arrived in custody for an appearance on bond at the Summit County Justice Center Tuesday morning in front of County Judge Edward Casias, who set a $5,000 cash or surety bond. Additionally, Casias required that Calhoun — a Canadian national — surrender her passport and submit to substance abuse testing. She is expected to return for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 8.

There are currently a number of outstanding criminal cases in the county in regards to assaults against police officers. In November, James Morrow pleaded guilty to felony second-degree assault of a peace officer and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest after assaulting a Dillon police officer. Morrow is set to be sentenced in January. Nathan Finnegan, whose alleged assault put a Breckenridge officer in the hospital this July, is set to go to trial in March after the District Attorney’s Office withdrew a plea deal earlier this week. Robert Larson is scheduled to head to trial in February for allegedly assaulting a sheriff’s deputy.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted program, 53 officers have been feloniously killed in the line-of-duty across the country this year, a more than 20 percent increase from 2017.


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