Internal affairs probes El Paso officer seen stomping on arrested man’s feet in video taken by ABC-7

EL PASO, Texas -- The El Paso Police Department’s Internal Affairs unit has launched an investigation into an officer’s conduct captured on video by ABC-7 that appears to show him stomping on the bare feet of a man in custody, authorities said Thursday.

The video of the incident was taken by an ABC-7 staffer in front of EPPD’s Central Command Center in downtown El Paso around 9:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

In the video, a man under arrest appeared to have his legs wrapped around an officer's leg. Then, the officer seemingly stomps on the man's bare feet, repeatedly.

A short time later in the video, the officer is able to break-free and then appears to kick the man with his right foot. As officers try to restrain the man on the ground, he begins to kick at them.

After several more moments - and with the help of several other officers - the man is taken into the command center with his hands behind his back.

A police spokesman said the man seen in the video was arrested on allegations involving aggravated robbery, injury to an elderly person and assault of a public servant.

“An investigation will be conducted by internal affairs to determine the circumstances surrounding the officer's actions depicted in the video,” said Officer Adrian Cisneros, an EPPD spokesman.