Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was criticized on social media for a comment during a television interview that a man who died after a stay in the Walker County jail might have been “posturing” as deputies loaded his motionless body into a sheriff’s vehicle to take him to a hospital.

Anthony “Tony” Mitchell, 33, died Jan. 26 at Walker Baptist Medical Center.

His death came a little more than two weeks after he was arrested on charges that he fired on Walker County deputies as they responded to a welfare check requested by his family.

Authorities confirmed Thursday that the FBI is involved in the investigation of Mitchell’s death.

Lawyers for Mitchell’s mother have filed a lawsuit,claiming that jail deputies tased Mitchell and locked him in a freezer. The lawsuit stated Mitchell froze to death.

An emergency room doctor listed the cause of death as hypothermia and noted that Mitchell’s rectal temperature was 72 degrees, the lawsuit says.

Marshall appeared on CBS 42 News on Friday and watched a video of deputies carrying Mitchell from the jail to an SUV. Marshall said it was his first time to see the video.

The deputies placed Mitchell on the ground to open the SUV door, allowing his head to rest on the concrete. In the video, he appeared unconscious. Officers then lifted him into the vehicle and drove him to Walker County Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

Anchor Andrea Lindenberg asked Marshall to watch closely when the deputies lifted Mitchell into the vehicle.

“Watch when they pick him up,” Lindenberg said. “Watch his head and his limbs.”

“It’s almost like he’s posturing a little bit,” Marshall said.

Marshall did not elaborate on the comment and has not responded to a request from AL.com for clarification through his spokesperson.

Twitter users who saw Marshall’s comment in a video clip of the CBS 42 blasted Marshall for making what they described as a callous comment about a man who died from what the lawsuit says was abuse and neglect while in custody.

“Pure callousness,” one user tweeted. “Absolutely sickening,” another wrote.

One Twitter user asserted that Marshall was referring to a medical term, “abnormal posturing,” which involves involuntary movements indicated a severe brain injury.

Marshall told CBS 42 he was not involved in the investigation of Mitchell’s death and said it is being handled by the State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.

Marshall said he would be prepared to take action in the case if necessary.

“They’ll handle this professionally and they’ll do their job,” Marshall said.

“The FBI has a different set of laws that deal with civil rights violations,” Marshall said.

“They are uniquely equipped in that area. Very different than what we have under current Alabama law to be able to evaluate it from that perspective.”

Protesters on Saturday held a rally outside the Walker County Courthouse in Jasper and called for full disclosure of what happened to Mitchell. A “Justice for Tony” page is on Facebook.