Video shows California police officer beating black man after alleged jaywalking incident

The Sacramento Police Department announced Tuesday that they were launching a formal investigation into an incident caught on video when a Sacramento police officer slammed a black man to the ground and began beating him after the man was allegedly jaywalking.

The video, which was released by the department Monday, clearly shows the officer approaching the man, who police have identified as Nandi Cain Jr., who was crossing the street. Cain stops and appears to be cooperating, although it is unclear what words were exchanged.  As Cain stands in the middle of the street with his arms out, the officer quickly escalates the situation by violently throwing him to the ground and punching him in the head.

The officer then called for back up, and six more police officers showed up to arrest Cain. He was charged with resisting arrest, but the charges were later dropped.

The Sacramento Police Department released a statement saying that the unidentified officer "attempted to detain a pedestrian for allegedly unlawfully crossing the street" and that Cain "questioned the officer's validity to stop him at which time a violent encounter occurred between the officer and the pedestrian."

"For an unknown reason, the officer threw the pedestrian to the ground and began striking him in the face with his hand multiple times," the statement continued.

"The videos of this incident portray actions and behavior that we would consider unacceptable conduct by a Sacramento Police Officer," the department added.

Sacramento Police Sgt. Bryce Heinlein condemned the actions, speaking to KTXL-TV in Sacramento. "I can tell you the actions of this officer does not represent the men and women of this police department," he said. "I can tell you the video speaks for itself and you know obviously we taking this seriously."

The incident is being investigated by the Internal Affairs Division and the officer involved, who the department would not identify, was placed on paid administrative leave, according to officials.