Police in Hagerstown, Maryland, are promising a thorough investigation into the death of a man in custody after officers shocked him with a stun gun outside a home he allegedly had broken into. Chief Mark Holtzman says the man died either inside an ambulance, accompanied by two officers, or at the hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly early Friday morning. The man was not carrying identification but police were later able to identify him as Darrell Lawrence Brown, 31, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, they wrote in a statement to Daily Mail Online. Hagerstown police have asked the Washington County Sheriff's Office to investigate the incident. Sheriff Douglas Mullendore says the investigation will be independent and thorough, according to the Herald Mail. Police were called to a reported break in at a house in Hagerstown, Maryland (pictured) before using a Taser on a black man who was staggering around outside . A spokesman for the Washington County Sheriff's Office told the Daily Mail Online that the force was investigating both the actions of the officers as well as any other possible crimes during the incident. Brown was black and all five officers involved are white. Race hasn't been raised as a factor, but it comes amid a national debate about the deaths of black men at the hands of police. Officers used a stun gun to subdue him outside a home he had broken into, prompting the frightened children inside to call 911, according to the Hagerstown Police Department and witnesses. Witnesses said the officers acted professionally in taking Brown down Thursday night as he cursed at police and ignored their commands to get down. An officer fired a stun gun from at least six feet away after the man moved toward him in an aggressive manner, said Robert Holmes, who said he watched the incident. 'They wasn't physical or nothing like that. They were pretty much doing their job,' Holmes said. Police said the man appeared to be under the influence of drugs. They said he remained uncooperative as he was handcuffed and placed in an ambulance. 'At some point, the suspect suffered an unknown medical emergency,' police said in a written statement. They said he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight at the nearby Meritus Medical Center. The Office of the State Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death, said Officer Heather Aleshire, a police spokeswoman. She said she was not aware of any video of the incident. A spokesman for the Office of the State Medical Examiner said they do not comment on cases still under investigation. The man, who has not yet been identified, was said to be under the influence of drugs before police used a Taser and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital . It is not known how many times the man was hit with a Taser, according to Holtzman. Police said the first call reporting a disturbance, with screaming in the background, came into the 911 center around 10.30pm Thursday. A second caller reported that a man broke into her house before leaving and staggering around outside the house, police said. Nine-year-old Tera Gibbs said the man kicked in the door to her family's row house and came upstairs, where she and her sisters sleep. Tera's mother, Laura Mirfin, said she had gone out, leaving Tera and three sisters, ages 16, 14 and 13, at home. Tera said the girls chased Brown outside and called 911. Police said two responding officers found the man in front of the home 'in an aggressive stance' and he 'appeared to be highly agitated before being Tased. Two more officers and a supervisor arrived a short time later. The five officers have roughly 32 years of combined experience. They have been reassigned to administrative duty until the end of an internal investigation. Andy Smith, the president of Brothers Who Care, an organization for black men roughly 100 yards from where the Taser incident took place, said that 'had this happened with any other police agency, I would possibly be concerned or up in arms since the man was black'. He said 'I do not have any suspicion of misconduct on their part in the death of this man', which he called an 'unfortunate incident'. A man with Brown's name who is the same age had a string of previous incidents with the law, including a conviction for distributing drugs.
Darrell Brown, 31, accused of breaking into house in Hagerstown, Maryland.
Black man was Tasered outside of house and pronounced dead at hospital.
Police say he was under influence of drugs and 'agitated' when approached.