NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) — An investigation is underway into an altercation that happened on the side of a busy Newport street over the weekend.
The incident was caught on camera early Sunday morning on Thames Street and has since made its rounds on social media. The video shows one officer pinning a man to the side of a trolley just moments before a different officer shoves another man into a streetlight.
The footage also shows the second officer smacking another man across the face before tackling him.
The Newport Police Department confirmed Monday that the chief is aware of the video and the incident is under investigation.
Police said two men were arrested, though neither have been identified.
Christopher Millea, the attorney representing one of the men, tells 12 News his client was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction of a police officer.
“At some point … things went awry,” Millea said. “Two other individuals were clearly assaulted by what appears to be members of the Newport Police Department.”
The other man was charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of an officer, according to his attorney Craig Hein.
“The video speaks for itself,” Hein said in a statement. “My client did nothing wrong.”
Both men are scheduled to appear in court on July 6.
It’s unclear at this time whether any of the officers involved have been placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.