DENVER -- A man appearing before a Denver judge at the City & County Building knocked out a glass window with his head and jumped from the third floor Wednesday morning, police said.

Josephus Haynes, 41, landed on a metal grate on the north side of the building but was quickly recaptured.

He was seriously injured and was taken to Denver Health Medical Center in an ambulance. His condition was not immediately released.

Haynes was appearing on misdemeanor assault charges in Court 316-R, where Judge Doris Burde was presiding.

He was handcuffed and shackled and at the podium when he head-butted the window and jumped face-first, according to police.

"He just basically hit the window with his head. Boom! And I was like 'What the heck,'" said Shawn Beningsdorf, who was in the courtroom when it happened. "I mean, it was fast. There ain't no way no one could have stopped him."

The incident happened at about 10:30 a.m.

It's not clear whether Haynes was trying to escape or commit suicide.