Palmerston North police have been accused of brutally assaulting at least two men on Saturday night.
But police say the claims are ridiculous and the men were resisting arrest.
Video provided to Newshub shows three men being arrested outside Shooters nightclub. A bystander can be heard yelling, "Whoa whoa whoa, cheap shots, cheap shots. We're watching this!" in the tussle on the city's main street.
Witnesses claim the footage captures the brutality, which unfolded just before 2am.
The first to be attacked was grappled by a policeman and taken to the footpath after trying to get involved in an established conversation, his face clearly bloodied.
Witness Erin Mason filmed the incident and says she's never seen anything like it.
"The bro in the white shirt was just standing there, and then he just got beat up, kicked in the face and then mauled by three other cops," she says
Soon after, she noticed a second man. He was handcuffed and lying on the ground unconscious.
"He's out he's out. F**k, I got it on camera mate," Ms Mason says in the tape.
Ms Mason says the man, who she doesn't know, was knocked out by police.
"I would call it police brutality."
She doesn't know what started the incident either, and told Newshub the footage speaks for itself.
Police, in a statement, says the officers were quickly outnumbered and the men were being abusive and obstructive.
They say the use of force was in response to their behaviour, and a review is now underway.
Newshub.
