The video begins when a car pulls up on a group of people arguing in the middle of a lane. It appears to be one man versus three with the downtown Los Angeles skyline in the background.
The group doesn't seem to notice when the person filming on their smartphone rolls down their window. It's clear the men are screaming at each other using profanity-laced language and challenging each other.
Two men raise their fists and begin swinging at each other. When it becomes two on one, it's no match. The lone man is pulled to the ground, dragged and kicked several times in the face. At one point he appears to be knocked out and is not shielding himself. He's left lying on the freeway as the other car pulls away.
Those filming pull over and get out of the car.
"You all right, bro? Get up. You can't get up? Get up man," says one person to the victim.
In an exclusive interview with Eyewitness News, a man who claims to be the victim said the two men were taunting him on the freeway, stopped traffic and got out of the their car and approached him.
That's when the man, who did not want his identity disclosed, said his military instincts kicked in. He said he suffered a concussion and doesn't remember most of what happened.
Skeptics are questioning whether the incident was staged. However, forensic video expert David Notowitz, who was working with the defense in analyzing the Kelly Thomas beating video, said the movement of this cellphone indicates the beating was not faked.
"There are reflections on the window of the car, all these things are real and indicate to me it's a fully legit video," Notowitz said.
The video has gone viral. In less than a day, it was viewed more than 100,000 times.
The CHP said it would hold a news conference at 7 a.m. Wednesday to discuss the incident.
