Authorities release body cam video in Alonzo Smith case

District of Columbia officials have released body camera footage related to the death of Alonzo Smith.

The 27-year-old special education teacher died Nov. 1 after being taken into custody by special police officers at an apartment building in Southeast D.C. His death has been classified as a homicide.

A police report says officers got a report about an assault at an apartment building and arrived to find him handcuffed by security guards. He was unconscious and not breathing.

The video released Tuesday shows what happened when D.C. police arrived at the apartment complex after Smith was already detained by two private security guards. It also shows police performing lifesaving measures on Smith, including CPR.

Warning: Video may be difficult to watch. (MOBILE USERS: CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO)

"Come on man! ... Come on buddy! ... Come on, wake up!" an officer shouts as he performs chest compressions on Smith's lifeless body.

At one point toward the end of the video, a man can be heard explaining what had happened.

"All I know is that security had to subdue him," the man says. "He was under the influence of PCP. When we found him he was already in handcuffs."

"The District's new law confirms that I have the ability to release body-worn camera footage that may be of significant public interest," said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

"Deciding whether to release a video such as this is always a very difficult decision," said D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine.

Smith's mother, Beverly, told us police came to her home Tuesday night to show her the video. She said the meeting did not go well.

"My first reaction was, 'What is the purpose of releasing this video a month after my son's death?'" she said.

This week, a medical examiner ruled Smith's death a homicide caused by sudden cardiac death complicated by acute cocaine toxicity while restrained with a contributing factor of compression of torso.

"It was not the cocaine that caused the massive hemorrhaging throughout my son's body," said Beverly Smith. "It wasn't the cocaine that beat my son to death."

Mayor Bowser's office is asking anyone with information about the death of Alonzo Smith to contact D.C. police by calling 202-727-9099 or texting 50411 or contact the U.S. Attorney's Office at 202-252-7130.