WEST WARWICK — A 47-year-old man died in police custody Friday night shortly after he was placed in a cruiser, the police said yesterday.

The police say they responded to a report of suspects damaging a sign outside Joyal’s Liquor Store at 90 West Warwick Ave.

The police said they found Mark Jackson standing behind the store. According to the police, Jackson became combative when officers approached him.

They said that officers were knocked to the ground while they attempted to subdue Jackson with pepper spray. When that didn’t work, the officers used their batons to hit Jackson in the legs, and called for backup, the police said.

The police said that when additional officers arrived, the police were able to handcuff Jackson and put him into the cruiser.

On the way to the police station, which is about two minutes away, Jackson stopped breathing and officers called for rescue workers, the police said.

According to the police, officers tried to revive him and the rescue workers took over while they transported him to Kent Hospital. Jackson was pronounced dead at the hospital.

An autopsy will be conducted this week, the police said.

The incident is being investigated by the state police, the attorney general’s office, and West Warwick police.

Nicole Frank, a clerk at Joyal’s Liquor, lives in a house behind the store; she said she was lying in bed watching television when she heard the commotion outside the store.

Frank said she looked out the window and saw “five police officers on top of [Jackson].”

“They did jab him,” Frank said, adding she didn’t see the officers using pepper spray or batons.

“He was trying to resist,” Frank said, adding, “I think he was more scared than anything.”

As the struggle continued, Jackson kept screaming, “I love you. I love you.” She said she thought he might have been referring to his mother who lives in an apartment next to the parking lot of the store.

Eventually, she said, two officers picked Jackson up from the ground and “shoved him in” the cruiser while another officer pulled him in from the other side.

“His shoes were all across the parking lot,” she said.

Jackson’s mother, Juanita “Anita” Jackson, said her son, the youngest of five, suffered from schizophrenia.

The 87-year-old woman said her son was very quiet. Neighbors who knew Jackson said they couldn’t believe he would have done anything that prompted police to hurt him.

“He was like the most harmless guy there was,” said Colin Dawson, who lives in Anita Jackson’s apartment complex.

“Of all the people … I can’t picture him doing anything,” Dawson said.

“They [officers] don’t know people, though,” Anita Jackson replied.

Mark visited his mother on a daily basis. At nearly 6 feet and more than 200 pounds, with long hair, Jackson was easily discernible, friends said. He would usually walk to Dunkin’ Donuts, Kingston Village, and the liquor store, where he would buy cigarettes and occasionally a lighter or a soda.

Mark would sometimes sit by the liquor store loading dock smoking, Dennis Joyal, who owns the liquor store said.

Anita Jackson said officers arrived at her house around 3 a.m. to tell her that her son had died while scuffling with the police; she was still awake, her door unlocked, as she waited for him to return.

Colin Dawson said that he saw the police search through Anita Jackson’s car. Jackson said later that morning the police went to her son’s Warwick apartment and she watched them search through piles of documents for medical records.

The police would not comment citing the ongoing investigation.

Yesterday afternoon, Jackson and a friend were still calling relatives.

“I just don’t know how I’m going to live because I counted on him for everything,” Anita Jackson said.

marmenta@projo.com