Allegheny County police and the state Department of Public Welfare are investigating whether a Shuman Juvenile Detention Center employee assaulted a male resident Friday by smashing his head against a wall.

The allegation first surfaced that morning during a dependency hearing in juvenile court when the boy's lawyer told the judge that his client said he had been injured by a staff member at Shuman.

Judge Kathleen R. Mulligan yesterday said attorney Frank McWilson from the county public defender's office told her that his client said "he was hit against the wall, and then the lawyer saw that he was bleeding. I issued a transportation order to send him to the E.R."

A sheriff's deputy transported the boy to the hospital. Judge Mulligan said she was told that he passed out on the way. The boy returned to Shuman Sunday night and was in court yesterday before Judge Mulligan for a detention hearing.

Mr. McWilson could not be reached for comment.

The male Shuman employee has been "taken off the schedule" and is not being paid while the multiple investigations -- including Shuman's internal probe -- run their course, said William T. "Jack" Simmons, the facility's director.

Mr. Simmons would not identify the employee, disclose the age of the resident or identify where in Shuman the boy was housed.

The allegation marks the latest bit of negative publicity for the troubled 130-bed center in Lincoln-Lemington.

Earlier this month the county fired nine Shuman workers for allegedly falsifying records. Last month a resident tried to kill himself with a makeshift noose and was hospitalized for several weeks, spawning a state investigation. Shuman is awaiting word on whether the welfare department will return it to a provisional license.

"We will be looking at all the typical things like supervision, staffing levels and any video surveillance that might be available," welfare spokeswoman Stacey Witalec said.

She said welfare inspectors are in Shuman three to four days a week.

Mr. Simmons said the boy in the latest case arrived Thursday at Shuman. That night he was placed on "one-on-one" status, meaning a staff member had to be within arm's reach of him at all times to prevent him from harming himself or others.

On Friday morning the boy was escorted to a bench in the back of his unit. He then prepared to leave for court.

Mr. Simmons said the boy claimed the incident occurred around 7:30 a.m., about 15 minutes before he was taken Downtown. Mr. Simmons said the accused employee had just started his shift at 7 a.m. and was handling the one-on-one supervision.

Shuman's preliminary investigation has found no evidence to support the boy's story, according to Mr. Simmons.

Shuman's security manager reviewed video of the boy's unit, which showed no violent physical contact with staff. There was no blood on the boy's clothing or on the walls. And the resident did not seem to exhibit any trauma or show any ill effects, Mr. Simmons said.

Judge Mulligan said she did not know anything was amiss in her courtroom until the boy's lawyer brought it up.

In fact, she said, "To tell you the truth he was sitting there. He hadn't passed out. We were talking about some procedural things."

Judge Mulligan said she did not have information about the boy's medical status or the type of treatment he received during his two-day hospital stay, but she allowed that "he seemed better."