Three Maryland sheriff’s deputies have been placed on leave after the death of a man they had taken into custody has been ruled a homicide. Lieutenant Scott Jewell, Sergeant Rich Rochford and Deputy First Class James Harris are currently under investigation regarding the death of a 26-year-old man named Robert Ethan Saylor.

Saylor, who had Down syndrome, was arrested in Regal Cinemas Westview Stadium 16 after a call from one of the employees. Saylor had watched Zero Dark Thirty but when the screening was over he refused to either leave or buy another ticket, reluctant to leave his seat.

The officers took him out by force as he was struggling and resisting them. He was handcuffed and placed face down on the ground when he became distressed and started showing signs of a medical emergency. The ambulance rushed Saylor to Frederick Memorial Hospital, where they could only pronounce him dead.

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The Chief Medical Examiner’s ruling stated “the cause of death as asphyxia and the manner of death as homicide,” and further investigation is pending. Saylor’s family refused to give any comments.