LAKE WORTH, Fla. – New details have been released regarding a controversial and violent arrest caught on video in Palm Beach County.
Body camera video shows what led officers to a rough and bloody encounter that occurred earlier this year.
The violent takedown of Christopher Connelly, which has now been seen by tens of thousands on social media, is now being challenged in court.
The rough arrest happened back in February.
What led up to the arrest is being shown in the newly released body camera footage.
It shows Palm Beach County deputies responding to a call about a man refusing to leave a property in Lake Worth and causing a disturbance.
Officers said the man, identified as Connelly, was apparently under the influence.
They’re heard giving him multiple verbal commands, but Connelly refused to follow them.
Moments later, he made a run towards the property.
Witnesses recorded as deputies forced him down and struck him repeatedly.
Connelly is now being represented by attorney Pat Wilson.
“There will be a lot of people who see this video and say, ‘Hey, he had plenty of chances to leave and he didn’t.’ How do you respond to that?” asked Local 10 News’ Christian De La Rosa.
“Even if an officer tells someone to leave and they don’t, or tells them to leave and they run away, it doesn’t mean you get to beat them up and repeatedly hit him in the head,” Wilson responded.
Connelly was initially charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence, but since the release of the cellphone video, Wilson said the charge has been reduced to simple battery.
Local 10 News reached out the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for comment but have not received a response at the time of this story’s publishing.