Greene County inmate's death ruled accidental, but jail staff members remain on paid leave

Authorities say the death of Darrell Thorne, a Greene County Jail inmate who died in March following a physical altercation with detention staff while reportedly experiencing a drug overdose, has been ruled accidental.

Citing autopsy results from the Greene County Medical Examiner, Sheriff Jim Arnott staged a press conference on Wednesday to announce that Thorne, 54, died from a combination of mechanical asphyxia during a forcible restraint, methamphetamine intoxication, arteriosclerosis, and hypertensive heart disease.

Springfield police arrested Thorne following a trespassing call and said that Thorne attempted to escape a patrol vehicle by kicking out a window. He continued to be combative at the jail, according to the sheriff's office, which said multiple staff members tried to identify him through fingerprinting.

Thorne, who allegedly injured a detention officer shortly after arriving at the jail, was determined by an on-site nurse to have overdosed, according to the sheriff's office. He was reportedly placed in a restraint chair before becoming unresponsive, prompting a nurse to administer Narcan and perform CPR. He died at a hospital five days later.

"We know that based on speaking with his family that he was not behaving normally when he was arrested by Springfield police officers," Arnott said Wednesday. "His family said that he had a great personality, was a good person, loved his family and believed in God."

Before the autopsy determined restraint had factored into Thorne's passing, the man's death was ruled a drug overdose. Ten jail staff members were initially placed on paid medical leave, according to Arnott, and one has since returned to work.

The eight staff members on leave are awaiting a prosecutor's review. One of the involved staff members is no longer employed at the jail, according to Arnott, who said he couldn't speak further on the ex-jail employee's recent exit because it's a personnel matter.

The Sheriff's Office said it is conducting an administrative review and submitted the investigation to the Greene County Prosecuting Attorney. Because the case — investigated by outside law enforcement agencies in southwest Missouri to prevent a conflict of interest — is still active, Arnott said he could not give additional details of the incident.

When asked about the medical examiner's ruling of mechanical asphyxia by restraint, Arnott said that it was "due to him being in a restraint chair" which he says has soft restraints.

It's unclear how Thorne experienced asphyxia while in the chair, but Arnott said the device was successfully used over 300 times at the jail in 2023 and is used when an inmate is being combative or threatening self-harm.

Thorne's previous arrest was in 2007, according to Missouri court records, when he was convicted of first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action in St. Louis County. He was given an 18-year prison sentence, so Thorne may have been released from prison as late as 2023.

Thorne, whose funeral was held in his native state of North Carolina on March 30, was the fourth Greene County Jail inmate to die in a a four-month period.

In January, the sheriff's office reported that inmate Michael Hill, 49, died after reportedly being found unresponsive in his cell. On Dec. 5, it was reported that inmate Jeffrey L. Gilmore, 44, died after an unspecified medical issue. On Nov. 12, inmate Austin Bond, 32, died after the sheriff's office said he suffered a seizure and fell from his jail bunk.

"We haven't had a lot of deaths, so it is abnormal," said Arnott when asked about the recent rate of deaths in the jail. "But all of them have had different causes."

Ryan Collingwood covers a wide range of topics for the News-Leader with an emphasis on public safety. He can be reached by phone at 417-258-8174 and email at [email protected]. You can also follow Ryan on social media at X.com/rwcollingwood.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Asphyxia from restraint contributed to Greene County inmate's death