Southfield Police are investigating the death of man at Northland Mall after he was pepper sprayed and restrained by three mall security officers, Fox2 reports.
The Tuesday incident was captured on a cell phone video.
Fox 2's Maurielle Lue reports that the dead man, Mackenzie Cochran, 24, of Ferndale was standing suspiciously outside a Northland jewelry store on Monday. The mall security asked him to leave.
He returned on Tuesday and threatened to kill someone, authorities told Fox 2.
So security was called and "Cochran appeared ready to assault someone and was breathing heavy with his fists clenched," Fox 2 reported.
Southfield police told Fox 2 that the security officers feared for their safety, so they used pepper spray to restrain him. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
WXYZ reported that by the time Southfield Police arrived, Cochran had a pulse but was not responsive.
A witness, Akil Copeland, said he heard Cochran yelling: "Let me up, let me up, I can't breathe."
He said the security cops kept telling Cochran to quit resisting arrest.
"I wanted to give the man CPR because he looked unresponsive. He was slunched over on the floor," Copeland said.
Cochran's sister believes her brother was beaten to death, Fox 2 reported. -- Allan Lengel
