AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department (APD) has released body camera footage showing the moments leading up to a man's death in police custody after a disturbance at a convenience store on June 17.
APD said officers received multiple 911 calls around 4 p.m. on June 17 about an incident at the Circle K convenience store located at 8801 S. Interstate 35 frontage road in southeast Austin. Witnesses reported a man, later identified as 35-year-old Jermaine Joseph Sims, was "acting erratic" and "throwing things."
Police said at 4:05 p.m., Sims stole a pick-up truck from a gas pump, turned onto the I-35 southbound frontage road at Slaughter Lane, in the wrong direction, and crashed into multiple vehicles. Sims was taken into police custody around 4:10 p.m.
APD said following his being taken into custody, Sims was taken to a local hospital by Austin-Travis County EMS. There, he was pronounced dead at 6:04 p.m. At the time, APD did not provide details about Sims' injuries or whether police used force when taking him into custody. The department only said that because Sims died after he was detained by officers, the incident is being investigated as an in-custody death.
Now, body camera video provided by APD is providing a clearer picture of the events that led up to Sims' death.
The video shows Sims, wearing no clothes, exiting the vehicle following the crash as police approach him. Officers quickly bring Sims down to the ground before handcuffing him.
The video shows Sims lying on his front, flat on the road, naked, for around two minutes before officers stand him back up. An officer can be heard saying, "We'll get him up in a second – it's probably hot."
Police did not comment on how Sims died but did say that upon initial review, it appears that Sims may have been injured in the car crash and before contact with officers. APD said Sims did not suffer any serious injuries from the arrest or detention process, and APD officers did not use deadly force during this incident.
A final autopsy report from the Travis County Medical Examiner will determine Sims' official cause of death.
The two officers involved in Sims' arrest were Officer Brandon Langer and Officer David Lewis. Both officers have one year of service with the department.
Lewis' body-worn camera became detached during the incident, fell to the ground and did not provide clear video or audio content, APD said. Along with the body camera video, police also released police radio traffic audio, five 911 audio calls and a private community member's dash camera of the crash.
KVUE asked APD why the footage provided cut off when it did. The department said, "APD’s intent with releasing videos is to be transparent with the community in showing our involvement with any force used. We stopped the video after our force had concluded, which is common practice in these situations."
Currently, there are no charges pending, although the case remains under active investigation, according to APD.
APD will conduct two investigations into the incident: A criminal investigation conducted by the APD Special Investigations Unit and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, and an administrative investigation conducted by the APD Internal Affairs Unit, with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight.
Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to contact APD at 512-974-6840 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 512-472-8477.