Client hospitalized after asphyxiating himself with phone cord in courthouse meeting room
A Michigan man was hospitalized in critical condition Monday after apparently asphyxiating himself with a telephone cord in an attorney-client meeting area at the downtown Grand Rapids courthouse.
Following a talk with his public defender, Troy Duane Peterson, 48, was left alone in the room, which provides a telephone hookup for attorneys and clients to commuicate while looking at each other through a Plexiglas barrier, reports MLive.com.
His lawyer, Norman Miller, said Peterson had appeared fine and had faced only a minimal jail sentence, at worst, for violating his probation in a Kent County breaking and entering case.
“He seemed just like any other client when I talked to him,” Miller said.
The incident disrupted a number of hearings as deputies throughout the building rushed through courtrooms to get to the 10th floor, where Peterson was, the article reports.
An investigation is ongoing.
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