BERLIN 

A 47-year-old man collapsed when the police beat him in the southern German city of Mannheim and died shortly thereafter, according to local media reports. 

According to the Baden-Wuerttemberg State Criminal Police Office and the prosecutor’s office in Stuttgart and Mannheim, police were called by an emergency doctor on Monday about a patient in downtown Mannheim who needed medical help.

Since the man resisted, "immediate coercion" was used, police said.

The victim then "collapsed" and "required resuscitation for reasons unknown,” according to the police.

The emergency services and the doctor "initiated immediate first aid measures," the police added.

The man was taken to the Mannheim University Clinic, where he died.

A video of the incident circulating on Twitter shows the police apparently beating and trying to restrain the victim, who can be seen lying on his stomach on the ground.

In the video, two police officers are kneeling over him and crossed the man's arms behind his back, apparently to handcuff him.

The man writhes and screams. When he tries to rise, one of the officers hits him twice in the head with his fist.

After that, the man still squirms and groans, but the officer can then apparently put handcuffs on him.