A group of Tampa police officers were forced to conduct a violent takedown after a man was trying to pick fist fights with random people in Ybor City early Sunday morning.
A video sent to ABC Action News by witnesses shows several officers pinning Armando Arredondo to the ground, while another officer repeatedly punches his upper body. Seconds later, another officer steps in and kicks Arredondo with his knee.
The arrest happened outside Rock Brothers Brewing on 8th Avenue just after the bar closed Sunday.
Joey Randazzo, director of operations for the brewery, says police had to use force to get a dangerous man off the street.
"If you look at a guy who's swinging at you multiple times, I mean, at the end of the day you have to protect yourself and the people around you," said Randazzo.
Tampa Police spokesperson Steve Hegarty says what the video doesn't show is Arredondo swinging at officers before they took him down and one of his hands reaching inside his waistband.
"When we try to handcuff you, if you keep one hand that is hidden or tucked away somewhere we're going to assume that you're going for a weapon," said Hegarty.
According to the police report, before officers arrived, Arredondo had been challenging random people to fist fights, then pounded on the brewery's front door after hours.
"It kind of got brought to our doorstep and they were both pushing against our glass, almost to the point where I thought they were going to go through the glass," said Randazzo.
Randazzo hopes the video serves as a reminder of what needs to be done to keep patrons safe in Ybor City.
"Maybe more police, more security going down 8th Avenue because it's sort of more of a deader area, but now we're starting to bring more life into the area," said Randazzo.
Arredondo faces several charges from the weekend confrontation with police, including resisting arrest with violence and assaulting a law enforcement officer.
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