Video shows rough LAPD arrest of man now suing the city

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Video taken in October 2015 shows the arrest of 21-year-old Steve Brown, who is seen being repeatedly punched and kneed in the head by LAPD officers.

The married father of a 2-year-old says it was never made clear to him why he was being arrested in the first place.

Brown, who is now suing the city, says he was walking home from work as he does every day, when the officers called him over.

"I walk up with my hands up, 'cause I ain't trying to get shot," Brown said.

Next thing he knew, he was on the ground, he says, being hit in the back of his head.

"I was hoping they don't shoot me. I'm just happy to walk off with my life," he said.

He says he didn't do anything to provoke the officers or trigger his arrest.

He says he saw his police report which said he was resisting arrest, but it didn't say why he was being arrested in the first place.

Police say the two officers involved were cleared of wrongdoing in a use-of-force investigation, but an internal affairs investigation remains open. The video is new evidence.

"Force is justified sometimes, but it's not pretty and it's not easy to look at. That doesn't excuse it, particularly if we misapply it," Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief William Scott said.

"In this particular case, the investigation still has further work to be done. We just received a piece of evidence now that we didn't have before. So we have to weigh that evidence in the totality of everything else that's going on."

Brown is now suing the city for civil rights violations, excessive use of force and assault.

"It's a disgrace," said Brown's attorney, Peter L. Carr. "We have officers who are sworn to protect and serve the community and they're treating this like a police state."