PASADENA, Calif. — A man armed with a knife and reported to be bipolar died after a struggle with Pasadena police officers who were called to an apartment early Friday for a reported disturbance.

Pasadena police Chief Phillip Sanchez said a fight ensued after the officers used a Taser on the man when he ignored their orders to drop the knife.

After he was subdued, officers noticed he wasn’t breathing and attempted to revive him, Sanchez said in a statement. Paramedics tried but failed. The man was pronounced dead at his apartment.

Police did not reveal the man’s name but several family members identified him as Reginald Thomas, a father of eight children.

Several added that while Thomas had a long history of mental illness that included previous run-ins with police, he was not a violent person.

Some said they suspected police overreacted because Thomas was black.

“He was struggling with mental illness but the police know this,” said Thomas’ brother-in-law, Forrest Elder. “He’s been in and out of mental homes where they help him and give him medication.

“But he wasn’t treated as a patient or a victim,” Elder continued. “He was treated as a suspect, and that’s how they treat us.”

On Friday night, about 100 people marched from the apartment complex through the streets of Pasadena to the police department to protest Thomas’ death.

The group blocked roads and intersections but was otherwise very peaceful.