Los Angeles County Sheriff's Attack Man With Mental Disorder For Trying To Help Crash Victims

A Black man who witnesses say was trying to flag down a patrol car because of a crash ended up being tased by the sheriff's deputies in the middle of the street.

VIDEO BELOW

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has launched an investigation into the confrontation on Monday, which was captured on film.

Footage of the incident posted on Twitter shows the unidentified man surrounded by four deputies moments before he is tased and falls to the ground.  The person who posted the video did not immediately respond to request for comment, but tweeted that they had been in the car crash and that the man was just trying to flag down the deputies.

Sheriff's officials confirmed deputies were called to a crash at 9:47 a.m. near 104th Street and Van Ness Avenue in Inglewood when a man ran into the road and blocked the patrol car.

"Deputies exited their patrol vehicle and contacted the individual," the department said in a statement. "Despite their de-escalation efforts, the individual became hostile and a use of force occurred."

In the video, just seconds after the Black man falls to the ground, a second man runs out of a nearby home to confront the deputies.

"Hey, he's not in right mind!" the man yells. "He's not in his right fucking mind!"

One deputy tries to pull the man back, but the confrontation turns physical and he is eventually tackled to the ground.  Sheriff's officials said in a statement the second man "ignored requests for him to back up" and "struggled with the deputies and was taken into custody."

The two men are related to each other, officials added.  Both men were taken to a local hospital for treatment. The man who was tased remained hospitalized as of Tuesday afternoon.

The other man, officials said, was released and cited for battery on a peace officer and obstruction.