Updated

A prominent gay activist was found dead in his Okla. apartment just two days after he filed a brutality complaint against the Tulsa Police Department, MyFoxPhoenix.com reported.

Keith Kimmel made headlines in February when he fought the state for the right to own a license plate reading: "IM GAY." Kimmel sued Okla. after the state's Tax Commission denied his license plate request.

Kimmel recently filed a formal complaint with police after a scuffle outside a night club, a friend told MyFoxPhoenix.com. Kimmel alleged that officers "dragged [him] around the parking lot on [his] stomach" and "hit [his] head on the door frame several times," a friend was quoted by the site.

"Whether or not his death was a direct result of the beating he received from the Tulsa Police Department Friday night.. it was still a hate crime." said friend Kerri Logsdon.

Investigators are awaiting a medical examiner's office to determine the exact cause of Kimmel's death.

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