SAN MARCOS, Texas — An investigation is underway after a 43-year-old man died at a hospital after an encounter with San Marcos police on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
According to Chief Stan Standridge, at around 7 p.m., the San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) received several 911 calls reporting a man on Interstate 35 who was "acting erratically" on top of the overpass above Posey Road. The man, later identified as Dennis Thornton of Leander, was reportedly lying on the edge of the overpass, throwing objects and yelling, all while traffic continued on I-35.
The first responding officer located Thornton on the southbound side of I-35 over Posey Road, leaning on the barrier that separates the southbound and northbound lanes. The officer identified himself and tried to make contact with Thornton, but Thornton's responses were unintelligible, according to Standridge.
Standridge said shortly after, Thornton suddenly charged at the officer, then stopped as suddenly as he had started and leaned on the barrier again. The officer ordered Thornton to the ground and when he did not comply, the officer used his Taser, causing Thornton to fall to the ground. Thornton did not have a weapon on him.
Another officer arrived on the scene, and the officers worked together to try to place Thornton in handcuffs. Standridge said Thornton tried to get back up, but the officers tried to "contain his movement" to keep him out of oncoming traffic. After the officers got the first handcuff on Thornton, Standridge said it took almost two full minutes to get the other one on.
Once Thornton was fully handcuffed, the officer chose to apply a wrap restraint, which Standridge said is used to "control violent or potentially violent individuals" and keeps them in an upright, seated position.
After he was placed in the restraint, based on his behaviors, Thornton was taken to Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in a patrol car for medical evaluation.
At the hospital, Standridge said Thornton received medical treatment for 51 minutes before he was pronounced dead. His temperature was nearly 108 degrees.
The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on Aug. 7 to determine Thornton's exact cause of death, but Standridge said it typically takes three months to receive those results.
Standridge noted in an update on Thursday that on Tuesday, prior to the encounter with San Marcos police, Thornton and his girlfriend were at a planned doctor's appointment in New Braunfels. Thornton's girlfriend said the night before, he had left their home and consumed alcohol and drugs. She said he still appeared intoxicated at the appointment the following day.
Hospital staff in New Braunfels called police at the request of Thornton's girlfriend, but by the time officers arrived, Thornton had already left the hospital. Surveillance video showed he left around 1:47 p.m., and it is not known at this time how he got from New Braunfels to San Marcos. He does not have a vehicle, so Standridge said he may have walked.
Concurrent investigations by the SMPD's Criminal Investigations Division, SMPD's Office of Professional Conduct and the Texas Department of Public Safety's Texas Rangers Division are ongoing.
Standridge said the encounter between police and Thornton was captured on officers' body-worn camera, but it is SMPD policy to not release body camera footage until after a grand jury review. The officer who fired their Taser is on leave, pending a psych evaluation.