ST. LOUIS -- The family of a St. Louis jail inmate who died in custody is disputing the police version of what happened.

Police said 27-year-old Nicholas Gilbert died Tuesday evening after a struggle with officers who tried to prevent him from killing himself in a holdover cell.

Police chief Sam Dotson said six to eight officers responded after a worker saw Gilbert trying to use his sweatpants as a noose. Gilbert hit his head on a concrete bench during the struggle. Officers noticed he was having trouble breathing and his pulse had stopped.

Gilbert was pronounced dead at a hospital.

His mother, Jody Lombardo, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the family believes Gilbert had been beaten. She said he was not suicidal.

Dotson said the investigation is ongoing.

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com