Family of black man who died in hands of police after calling 911 ask why five officers used ‘excessive force'

21-year-old Tawon Boyd was reportedly punched and given a drug to calm him down before being taken to intensive care

The 21-year-old was not described as a threat to police officers in the initial report, said the family's lawyer (Tawon Boyd / Facebook)

The family of a black man who died following a violent scuffle with five police officers has asked what happened and why the officers used excessive force upon a citizen who had called 911.

21-year-old Tawon Boyd had called emergency services in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland, last week. Officers came to his home and ended up hitting him in the head and climbing on top of him to subdue him.

Boyd, father of a three-year-old, died in hospital last Wednesday following heart and kidney failure.

Family lawyer Latoya Francis-Williams said they plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit. She said it was troubling that the officers did not describe Boyd as posing a threat to them after they arrived.

Boyd reportedly had a pre-existing medical condition, was intoxicated when police arrived and could have reacted badly to the medication he was given by emergency workers at the scene.

The result of an post-mortem examination could take weeks.

Boyd in intensive care following the violent scuffle outside his suburban home (Prinice Thomas / AP)

According to a police report, when officers met Boyd outside his house he was "sweating heavily" and appeared "confused and paranoid".

Police said he insisted that his girlfriend intoxicated him and was secretly recording him while someone else was in the house. His girlfriend told them he had been smoking and drinking that day.

The report said as officers tried to calm him down, he started "running and screaming", and tried to get into the police car and then started banging on a neighbour’s front door.

They reported that during a struggle with the man - who was 5,5’ tall and weighed 150 pounds - one officer punched the suspect twice in the face, and multiple officers sat on him for about five minutes.

Boyd’s grandmother, Linda Burch, told the Associated Press that he was calling out: "Grandma, Grandma, they’re going to kill me."

He was given a drug "to calm him and prepare him for transport".

He became so calm that police requested medical workers check his pulse.

He was then taken to intensive care.

The family’s lawyer said she was waiting for the post-mortem examination results and further police reports which have yet to be released.

Instead of police seeking help for what appeared to be a victim of mental illness, they treated him as a criminal.

"Our position is that upon arrival the Baltimore County police officers believed he wasn't all there and it was their duty to protect him from himself, a third party and another officer," she said.