An off-duty employee at the College of Staten Island died Tuesday after he got into a scuffle on campus with a police officer who caught him smoking marijuana in a bathroom stall.
A police officer was using a campus bathroom near an athletic field on the Willowbrook campus when he smelled marijuana coming from a stall, authorities said.
The officer confronted the suspect, who tried to run away. The foot chase ended at a parking lot on the campus' north side, and the two struggled on the ground.
Police said two civilians helped subdue the suspect. After the 39-year-old suspect was handcuffed, he lost consciousness. One NYPD source suggested he may have suffered cardiac failure.
The suspect was pronounced dead at Richmond University Medical Center.
The police officer was taken to a hospital for cuts and bruises.
An official NYPD investigation was conducted on campus. The medical examiner has scheduled an autopsy for later Tuesday.
