Texas man with mental disability dies after police struggle
Stephen Gayle
Stephen Gayle died Thursday night after Temple police officers who responded to a disturbance call tried to put him in handcuffs. A Temple Police Department spokeswoman said Friday that the Texas Department of Public Safety will investigate the death and that there's no indication the officers "acted outside the scope of their duties."
Temple officers responded to a disturbance complaint around 7:30 p.m. Thursday near an apartment complex. They encountered  Gayle   believing he was responsible for the disturbance  and said he was uncooperative and appeared intoxicated  according to a police release. During a struggle  the officers tried to handcuff  Gayle  and put  him  inside a police car  police said.
The Temple Daily Telegram reports that  Gayle 's family and people who witnessed the incident are questioning the account police have given. Witnesses who spoke to the newspaper said the officers  who were white  used excessive force to arrest  Gayle   who was black.
Wanda Nichols  a church pastor who lives in the neighborhood  said she saw  Gayle  walking down the street and yelling before police arrived. She said she thought  he  was trying to get the attention of a child who was practicing football nearby.
[TGT] died Thursday night after Temple police officers who responded to a disturbance call tried to put [TGT] in handcuffs. A Temple Police Department spokeswoman said Friday that the Texas Department of Public Safety will investigate the death and that there's no indication the officers "acted outside the scope of their duties."
Temple officers responded to a disturbance complaint around 7:30 p.m. Thursday near an apartment complex. They encountered  Gayle   believing he was responsible for the disturbance  and said he was uncooperative and appeared intoxicated  according to a police release. During a struggle  the officers tried to handcuff  Gayle  and put  him  inside a police car  police said.
The Temple Daily Telegram reports that  Gayle 's family and people who witnessed the incident are questioning the account police have given. Witnesses who spoke to the newspaper said the officers  who were white  used excessive force to arrest  Gayle   who was black.
Wanda Nichols  a church pastor who lives in the neighborhood  said she saw  Gayle  walking down the street and yelling before police arrived. She said she thought  he  was trying to get the attention of a child who was practicing football nearby.