Broward police officers under investigation for forcibly arresting a man accused of committing a lewd act

Cellphone video appears to show a man, identified as suspect Roberto Sosa, receiving several blows to the head from police officers in the middle of Hallandale Beach Boulevard before being taken to the ground.

CBS News Miami reported counting five Hallandale Beach police officers on Sosa, with two others on the side.

The news outlet discussed the video with the department's Chief of Staff, Grace Mariot. Asked about the video, Mariot stated, "The individual was just not following the commands of the officer. So that is the only thing I can say at this time."

Mariot confirmed she is limited in what she can say due to an ongoing internal affairs "Use of Force" investigation, which she noted is standard in cases like this.

Bodycam video was released by the Hallandale Police of the incident

Hallandale Beach police on Friday released body camera video showing a struggle between officers and Sosa during his arrest that prompted the excessive use of force investigation. 

The video shows officers attempting to detain Roberto Sosa at an intersection along Hallandale Beach Boulevard.  

In the body camera footage, an officer can be heard telling Sosa, "You're being detained for right now," to which Sosa responds, "What have I done, bro?"

The footage then shows officers ordering Sosa out of his vehicle.

"Get out of the car," an officer says.

"Be careful," Sosa responds.

"Get out of the car. I'm not [expletive] with you," the officer continues.

Police said Sosa exited the vehicle, and as officers attempted to handcuff him, he began to turn around. Officers are then seen placing him against the trunk of the car.

"Stop moving your arms," an officer is heard saying.

Video shows Sosa pulling his arms away as officers attempt to restrain him.

"Give me your [expletive] arm right now," an officer says.

Officers then force Sosa to the ground as they continue efforts to restrain him. At one point, video shows an officer pushing Sosa's head into the ground.

Sosa can be heard yelling in Spanish, accusing officers of abuse, as additional officers arrive on scene.

Later in the video, multiple officers are seen working to detain Sosa. In footage shared on social media, at least one officer appears to punch him. The video shows up to seven officers involved in the final takedown.

Sosa appeared in bond court and is being accused of committing a lewd act

Sosa made his first appearance in bond court Thursday. His arrest stems from allegations that he got out of his car, pulled his pants down and committed a lewd act in front of a man staying at a vacation rental. Before that incident, he is accused of staring at a woman and child for several minutes.

Mariot explained how the police were able to capture him: "They were able to identify that the behavior was not appropriate. They called the police. The police was able to respond. They provided police with information that actually helped us capture the individual."

Police were able to catch Sosa because of a license plate reader. The woman with the child wrote down his tag number, which led to the take down. 

Sosa faces charges of resisting an officer without violence, exposure of sexual organs, and possession of a controlled substance. Police said the drug charge stems from cocaine officers say they found on him at the time of the arrest.