Pasadena police used a Taser on a man twice along with physical force on a man who died during an altercation with members of their force Friday, KTLA reports.

The man who ended up dead was the one who placed the call, according to a woman who identified herself as the mother of his children.

“He called the police on himself,” Shainie Lindsay said of 36-year-old Reginald Thomas. Lindsay told the media outlet that Thomas was the father of her four children and that she is pregnant with a fifth.

“He wanted help.”

Thomas was “dysfunctional” and bipolar, and had previous run-ins with police before Lindsay said. Pasadena officials said officers were called to the couple’s home on the 200 block of Orange Grove Boulevard at 2:20 a.m. for a “domestic disturbance with a suspect at the location armed with a knife.”

The man did not comply, police say, and tried to “re-enter an occupied apartment,” a news released issued by the department states. A fight ensued after a Taser was used on the man.

Sheriff’s homicide Capt. Steven Katz spoke at a chaotic scene outside the home late Friday morning, where neighbors requested details from reporters. One man yelled at him while another repeated the phrase, “Stop sacrificing Black men.”

Two 911 calls came from the home. The first around 2 a.m., Katz said. The second one indicated a family disturbance, possession of a knife and the use of narcotics. A “struggle” could be heard over the phone, the captain said.

“They was wrestling with him, was kicking him in the head and beating him with the baton stick,” Lindsay said, crying. “Then, after that, they was doing CPR and then he was dead.”

Pasadena firefighters arrived and took over, but Thomas died at the scene. Katz said officers used Tasers on him twice, as well as physical restraints. No firearm or impact weapon (such as a baton) was used during the altercation.

Details are still emerging.

“He was a good father, and they didn’t have to kill him,” Lindsay said. “He just wanted help. He didn’t want to die.”