Man dies after scuffle with hotel security guard
LAFAYETTE — A man died Thursday after a struggle with a security guard at a Lafayette hotel where he was allegedly harassing employees and patrons dressed only in his underwear, police said.
The man’s identity was not released because police had yet to locate his next of kin, Lafayette police spokesman Cpl. Paul Mouton said.
Police responded to a call about 11:20 a.m. from the Studio 6 hotel at 1441 Southeast Evangeline Thruway, where the 48-year-old man was having trouble breathing after a scuffle with the hotel’s security guard, according to police.
The man, a hotel guest, was transported to an area hospital and later died, police said.
Police said the man had reportedly been harassing other patrons and hotel employees on the third floor .
The hotel security guard confronted the man and handcuffed him after a brief struggle, police said, and the security guard then brought the man down to the hotel lobby.
“Once in the lobby, the suspect attempted to move towards an employee, at which time the suspect was taken to the ground by the security guard,” according to a news release from Lafayette police.
Mouton said that the man was having trouble breathing when police arrived, but there did not appear to be any obviously bleeding or major injuries from his struggles with the guard.
The death could have been related to some other “health issue,” Mouton said, but investigators are awaiting an autopsy report from the Lafayette Parish coroner to determine the cause of death.
Mouton said no patrons or employees were injured.