Texas Rangers investigating after man dies in Denton police custody

DENTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) — The Texas Rangers are investigating after a man died while in Denton police custody early Wednesday morning. Officers said the man was behaving erratically and yelling incoherently before he experienced a "medical episode."

At about 11:22 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21, officers responded to a 911 call from a man in a hotel in the 600 block of South I-35E claiming someone was trying to get into his hotel room. When they arrived, the man told officers he was fine and did not need help and the officers left.

Shortly after, at about 11:42 p.m., police received another 911 call from the same hotel. The caller told dispatchers that they could hear glass breaking in a hotel room and that the man inside, who police confirmed placed the first call 20 minutes before, seemed "out of it." 

When they returned to the hotel, police saw the two of the hotel room's windows were broken and that a mattress had been thrown out on to the sidewalk below. They heard the man, who was the only person in the room, yelling and screaming incoherently. The officers requested medical support.

Then, the hotel staff provided officers with a key to the room and told them they wanted the man removed and charged with criminal mischief.

The police opened the hotel room door and tried to speak with the man, who picked up a piece of a broken bed frame and began walking toward them. The offices left the room and returned to the hallway, hoping to deescalate the situation.

The man began screaming and yelling from inside the room's bathroom, and officers entered again. They saw that the room had been extensively damaged, including a dismantled bed frame and splatters of blood. The police tried again to talk to the man, but he was still unable to answer coherently. Officers heard a shattering sound from the bathroom, and the man slip a large piece of glass under the door.

The officers once again exited the room to give the man time and space to calm down. From the hallways, officers continued to try and speak with the man as they heard more property destruction from inside. 

After over 30 minutes of negotiation, the man got quiet and seemed to have calmed down. Officers made entry and found the man lying on the bed sweating profusely. He told officers to shoot him. He was put into handcuffs without resistance or the use of force and placed in restraints after he began rolling around and trying to kick officers.

The man then experienced an unspecified "medical episode" and became unresponsive. Medics staged at the hotel immediately took him to a local hospital, but Denton police were notified that he died early Wednesday morning.

The man's name has not been released pending family notification and his cause of death was not immediately available.