Photo by Brandon Anderson.

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the death of a 27-year-old man who was found in the custody of special police officers on Sunday.

Alonzo Smith was found unconscious inside an apartment building at 2312 Good Hope Road SE. He later died in an area hospital.

Here’s part of a statement released by MPD:

At approximately 4:03 am, members of the Seventh District responded for the report of an assault in progress at a residential building in the block. They arrived on scene to find an adult male subject handcuffed and in the custody of special police officers working at the location, unconscious and not breathing. Members summoned medical aid and began lifesaving efforts. The subject was transported to an area hospital where he later died.

The family’s attorney told FOX 5 that the special police officers were “security guards for an apartment complex” and have no affiliation with D.C. police.

The attorney also said that Smith, who worked as a teacher, was not carrying a weapon and a witness “heard Smith running down the hall yelling” for help. Although she had not received an autopsy report or seen the body at the time of the interview, the attorney believed that Smith was beaten and was “very much alive before the special police got to him,” FOX5 reported.

Across the country, versions of special police officers “patrol corporate campuses, neighborhoods and museums as the demand for private security has increased and police services have been cut in some places,” The Washington Post reported earlier this year. Varying state and district provisions allow these officers, who are sometimes simply private citizens, to make arrests, hold badges, and carry a gun. Their training is generally far less rigorous than that of officers on the police force.

In D.C., becoming a special police officer requires 40 hours of training, according to The Post.