O.C. Man Behaving Strangely Is Handcuffed, Dies in Custody

A man who appeared intoxicated and was acting strangely died Monday after deputies subdued and handcuffed him at a Rancho Santa Margarita apartment complex, officials police said.

Dean Scott Thomassen, 38, was seen by a passerby slamming his body against cars and breaking windows in the complex’s carport in the 2200 block of El Prado, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Paramedics were called, but Thomassen became combative while being treated for a head injury, Amormino said. Paramedics called deputies.

When two deputies arrived, Thomassen argued with them, then “went into a fighting stance and charged toward the deputies,” Amormino said.

After the deputies restrained Thomassen and handcuffed him, they noticed he was not breathing, Amormino said. The officers did not use Mace, he said.

Thomassen was taken to Mission Regional Hospital in Mission Viejo, where he was pronounced dead about 11:20 a.m. An autopsy will be conducted today.

Thomassen, an unemployed computer worker once charged with domestic violence, lived with his wife and three children in a house nearby.

The district attorney’s office is investigating.