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GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A coroner in South Carolina says the death of a wounded man after a scuffle with security guards at Greenville Memorial Hospital was the result of the guards' actions.
Coroner Parks Evans told news outlets an autopsy shows 48-year-old Donald Keith Smith of Greenville died Monday from traumatic asphyxiation. The coroner says Smith was unable to breathe because of the position in which he was held after the scuffle.
The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating. The agency says Smith had been admitted to the hospital for a gunshot wound to the arm.
Evans said Smith became combative and hit an officer. Officers then secured Smith on a gurney. Hospital personnel were unable to revive him.
Hospital spokeswoman Sandy Dees says the officers are no longer assigned to the hospital during the investigation.
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