From [HERE] An Elizabeth Borough police officer used excessive force, including fighting with and using a Taser on a man in his custody, and another officer failed to protect him while he was shackled to a bench, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Wednesday.

The altercation was recorded on police station video, which was released by Pittsburgh attorney Todd Hollis.

“I think the video clearly shows why the public has so much distrust for the police system,” Hollis told the Tribune-Review. “It shows an officer who is using his authority in a distasteful and disgusting way, essentially assaulting an unarmed and shackled prisoner.”

The video stems from an April 17, 2015, arrest of Joshua Brooks, 21, of East Pittsburgh, who was picked up for suspicion of heroin possession.

Hollis, who represents Brooks, wrote in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh that Officer Garrett Kimmell “delivered multiple blows to Brooks, using his forearms, elbows and knees.”

The video shows Brooks fighting back. Hollis contended Brooks “lifted Kimmell and held him backward against the wall in an effort to restrain him and stop (Kimmell's) use of unnecessary force.”

The video shows a second officer, alleged to be Officer Dan Verno, entering the room and pulling Brooks off Kimmell.

“Kimmell then drew his Taser and Tasered Brooks,” Hollis wrote in the lawsuit.

After the altercation, officers added charges of aggravated assault of a police officer, resisting arrest, obstructing administration of law and simple assault, among others.