Man Collapses, Dies After Workout at College

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the death of a 28-year-old man who collapsed at El Camino College in Torrance after participating in a workout session that was part of a reserve police officers training program, officials said.

Although Maurice Smith had to be handcuffed by campus police on Saturday to be taken to the hospital, college officials said they do not suspect foul play. But Smith’s friends fear he was tied up in a manner that caused him to stop breathing.

Smith, who worked as a substitute security guard at Bellflower’s ABC Unified School District and lived in Compton with his mother and 8-year-old son, had finished showering and dressing after a vigorous training session in hot, humid weather.

On his way to class about 10:30 a.m., he sat down in a school hallway and started speaking incoherently, said Sgt. Dirk Edmundson, who is investigating the case.

“From all accounts he appears to have been disoriented,” Edmundson said. Smith reportedly would not accept any help. He had to be handcuffed and his feet were bound to get him into an ambulance, the investigator said. Smith had a seizure while en route to Gardena Memorial Hospital, Edmundson said.

Doctors tried to revive Smith, but he was pronounced dead at 11:26 a.m. The preliminary cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest. The county coroner has scheduled an autopsy.

“The whole story smells to high heaven,” said David Pierre, a friend of Smith who believes that the campus police department is covering up how Smith died.

College officials said no foul play was involved in Smith’s death.