Authorities in Orlando are currently investigating after an inmate was beaten to death while in handcuffs by a corrections officer.

The death of 51-year-old Christopher Howell at the Lake Correctional Institution was reported on Monday by the Miami Herald.

According to the Miami Herald who spoke to inmates and one officer , Howell was handcuffed in his cell when he refused a command. He was then beaten by an officer as two other officers watched but did not intervene.

The Florida Department of Corrections declined to comment on Howell’s death and the ongoing investigation, however, they did report that Howell was pronounced dead at the hospital on Friday and that the officers involved where placed on administrative leave.

“Any employee found to have acted inappropriately or illegally faces disciplinary action up to and including dismissal and arrest,” the agency said in a statement Friday.

Howell’s arrest affidavit reported that the 51-year-old was “disabled” with a “juvenile disposition,” and that he had been serving a four-year sentence for stealing four cell phone chargers and an $8 folding knife.

He was charged with theft and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.