Texas police
© Rex Curry / Reuters
The Texas Rangers have launched an investigation into a local police department after a mentally disabled man, who also lived with chronic pain, died shortly after an altercation with officers.

Police in the city of Temple responded to a call about a disturbance at a downtown apartment building at approximately 7:30pm local time Thursday.

The man whom they encountered, and believed to be the cause of the disturbance, appeared intoxicated. When police attempted to arrest him, he resisted and began shouting again.

As the struggle continued, the man, later identified as Stephen Gayle, began showing signs of distress and an ambulance was called to the scene. He was taken to Baylor Scott and White Hospital but died shortly thereafter, at approximately 9:07pm.

"They handcuffed him, and then as they were taking him back to the car, he did that little yell again, and it was at that point that they decided that they would take him down," local pastor Wanda Nichols told the The Temple Daily Telegram.

"They actually got him down on his stomach, and one officer kept his knee in his back and the other one was down at the front, kneeling in front of him... and then he kind of straddled him and he started punching him in his face."

Officers took Gayle out of the car soon after and he did not appear conscious so they attempted to resuscitate him on the scene before emergency medical responders arrived.

An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death and the Texas Rangers are investigating the officers' conduct with assistance from the Temple Police Department's Violent Crime Squad.