Late Friday night, a man stopped in a car at Dowlen and Eastex had his cell phone camera rolling as a Beaumont Police Officer attempted to arrest 50-year-old John Kowalski. While he's got the suspect in his grasp, there's a struggle which results in the officer punching the man four times in his head.

Beaumont Ward 2 City Councilman Mike Getz was one of many who saw the video Saturday. He says the officer did what he needed to do.

"Our police officers don't engage in unnecessary force, and they don't do these things lightly," said Getz.

The councilman took to Facebook, encouraging others to wait for more information before assuming, but Attorney Langston Adams whose handled an excessive abuse case involving BPD in the fast says the video was shocking and outrageous

"We measure officers actions based upon what was objectively reasonable under the circumstances," said Adams. "To punch him that many times to his face while the man is lying on his stomach, to me, did not appear to be objectively reasonable."

"There's almost always two sides to the story and I don't think this is going to be an exception," said Getz.

According to a Probable Cause Affidavit obtained by KFDM, the officer was responding to reports of a man jumping in and out of traffic. John Kowalski fit the description of the suspect.

In the document the officer says Kowalski "refused to follow his commands and wore a belt with multiple sharp objects. The officer says after getting Kowalski to the ground, Kowalski swung toward him and attempted to bite him.

Kowalski was arrested for Assault on a Peace Officer and Resisting Arrest.

The officer says he used reasonable but necessary force to get Kowalski into handcuffs and take him into custody.

"It never looks good when police officers have to use force, but they're trained to use force in order to handle the situation," said Getz. "If he would have complied, the officer wouldn't have taken him to the ground. That's not something that police officers do."

Adams who defended Derrick Newman in a 2007 lawsuit against Beaumont Police Officers who hit Newman with a baton 13 times and tased him, says in this case, the force used was unnecessary.

Adams says use of force becomes unjustified once it exceeds what is necessary to achieve a law enforcement objective, meaning an arrest.

"Even if we were to concede that he was trying to bite the officer, to me it appeared that that force was not necessary to effectuate the arrest," said Adams. "It appeared that what he could have done is just pulled his arm and put him in cuffs."

Since Derrick Newman's case, Adams and others have led efforts to create Civilian Review Boards so regular people can participate in the disciplinary process of police when situations like this one arise. Adams says Beaumont Police and Port Arthur Police have not been receptive to the idea and have opted for Chief Advisory Boards, where the police chief still has the final say.

"These police officers will just take care of their own in these using these disciplinary review boards. They make a recommendation to the chief and then the chief will either accept the recommendation or not," said Adams.

While Beaumont Police is investigating, Adams says it's important that people question and document interactions between police and citizens when they escalate to the level of what's seen in this most recent video.

"It is a civic duty and a responsibility to your fellow fellow citizen to see that your fellow citizen is not being abused," said Adams. "He should not be tried in the streets by the police officer, it should be tried in a court of law."