Over the weekend, a North Texas activist group released a video of two Fort Worth police officers appearing to punch a man in the face as he was pinned on the street.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports a group of six police officers and city officials Tuesday decided to respond with bodycam video. The footage shows the lengths it took to subdue and handcuff 35-year-old Forrest Curry after he took swings at firefighters trying to help him.
Dashcam video and audio from a 911 call also were released.
Assistant Police Chief Charles Ramirez said the officers wanted the video released, even though the county district attorney advised against it.
The police department said it's opened an internal investigation after the first video was published on Facebook Sunday by Next Generation Action Network.
The 50-second clip shows two Fort Worth officers restrain Curry lying face down in the street. One officer kneels into the man's back and repeatedly punches him as the man cries, "Why (expletive) are you punching me? Why?"
Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said in a statement Sunday that it took three officers and one supervisor to subdue the suspect.
Curry was arrested on charges of public intoxication, resisting arrest and evading arrest. He also had outstanding traffic warrants. He was released from the Tarrant County Jail Monday.
Curry was one of a small group who gathered Tuesday night at the Tarrant County Courthouse and marched to Fort Worth City Hall in response to the arrest.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.