Santa Ana police investigating after video shows rough arrest
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- A video filmed in the driveway of a Santa Ana home has sparked an investigation into police officers' use of force during an arrest Sunday.
In the video, a Santa Ana police officer can be seen holding a man down as he orders the man to put his hands behind his back. "They're going behind my back, sir. They're going behind my back," the man responds. "I promise."
The officer then appears to radio for assistance. As he continues to hold the man down, he orders the man, again, to put his hands behind his back. "They're behind my back. Let me put them behind my back, sir," the man says to the officer, who then begins to strike the man about his head and face as another officer arrives.
The man on the ground cries out in pain, screaming "please stop" as the officer continues to order the man's hands behind his back while striking him repeatedly.
WATCH: See the full video of the arrest
The second officer begins to struggle with the man on the ground as the first officer climbs on top of him, striking him again before deploying a Taser into the man's side.
A third officer arrives as the man continues to cry out in pain. The officers can be seen in the video continuing to punch and kick the man as he screams on the ground.
"Stop fighting!" one of the officers yells. "I'm not fighting!" the man says. An officer then strikes him in the face. "I can't feel my face," the man screams as one of the officers pulls out a nightstick and begins hitting him across the back of his legs.
As the man continues to scream for help, two more officers arrive. "You're overdoing it!" the neighbors can be heard screaming at the officers. "I've got all of this on camera."
The Santa Ana Police Department confirmed that the arresting officers used force after an officer attempted to stop a vehicle for traffic violations. According to police, the vehicle failed to stop and a chase ensued. The driver jumped out of the still-moving vehicle and led officers on a foot chase.
"The driver was taken into custody after a use of force," Santa Ana police said in a statement on the incident.
According to police, the vehicle was stolen and officers recovered narcotics and a replica handgun inside. A passenger was arrested without incident when the vehicle crashed into a parked car after the driver fled, police said.
Police said both suspects are documented gang members who were booked on grand theft auto, possession of stolen property, felony benefiting street gang, felony evading and felony possession of a controlled substance.
Santa Ana's police chief directed that the department's internal affairs division begin the investigation, which will look at the circumstances that occurred before and during the use of force and ultimately determine whether the force was justified.
