OCEAN CITY, Md. — Video of an arrest in Ocean City is going viral.
It shows what appears to be an officer kneeing a suspect on the ground as they try getting him into custody.
The video was taken from the boardwalk and posted on Instagram.
In it you can hear police tell the suspect to stop resisting and to give them his hands.
The suspect says he isn't resisting and asks why he's being arrested.
Some of the blows look like they may have landed on the side of the man's body.
Police say the encounter began when a group was seen vaping in a prohibited area.
As the group walked away, police say one of the men started vaping again.
He allegedly refused to provide officers with his ID when asked, and became disorderly.
Police later identified him as 19-year-old Brian Everett Anderson.
As officers struggled to place Anderson under arrest, a hostile crowd can be seen forming around them.
One of the individuals has been identified as 19-year-old Kamere Anthony Day.
Police say Day yelled profanities and continued to approach officers as they were placing Anderson under arrest, despite being told to back away several times.
A third suspect, 18-year-old Jahtique Joseph John Lewis is accused of assaulting an Ocean City Public Safety Aide, and picking up a police bicycle and trying to strike them with it.
Another man identified as 19-year-old Khalil Dwayne Warren also refused to leave the scene and was arrested.
All four suspects are from Harrisburg Pennsylvania and have been released on their own recognizance.
A police spokeswoman said the department is aware of the videos and that the incident would undergo a review process.
"We are aware of the social media videos circulating regarding this incident. Our officers are permitted to use force, per their training, to overcome exhibited resistance," said Deputy Communications Manager, Ashley Miller. "All uses of force go through a detailed review process. The uses of force from these arrests will go through a multi-level examination by the Assistant Patrol Commander, the Division Commander and then by the Office of Professional Standards."
Senate President Bill Ferguson commented on the incident in a Tweet Monday, tying it to a police reform package passed during this year's General Assembly.
"No teenager should face brutality for walking along the Boardwalk. An important balance exists between under enforcement and over enforcement," said Ferguson. "We achieve that balance and we achieve real public safety when constitutional policing leads to the appropriate enforcement of our laws and where the system yields swift, certain, and just consequences for those who break the law."
