A suspected car thief was brutally beaten by multiple Alameda County sheriff's deputies on Thursday, following a car chase through San Francisco. Surveillance footage of the encounter was released by the San Francisco Public Defender's office on Friday after witnesses voiced concerns about the arrest.

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Alameda police first approached Stanislav Petrov, who was reportedly sitting in a stolen car outside a hotel in San Leandro, around 1:30 AM on Thursday. Sgt. J.D. Nelson, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, said that the suspect fled, leading police on a 38-minute car chase from the East Bay.

After allegedly crashing into two patrol cars in San Francisco's Mission District, injuring one deputy, Petrov fled on foot. He ran through an alley where a surveillance camera recorded one deputy tackle and punch the suspect as the other repeatedly beat him on the head with his baton.

The video skips about ten seconds and then shows both deputies repeatedly hitting Petrov with their batons. After backup arrives, additional officers continue to kick and strike the suspect, leaving him on the ground as he screams for help

Nelson said that deputies believed the suspected car thief was armed and that investigators later retrieved a gun. "Nelson said he did not know if the gun was on the man when he was arrested, or elsewhere," SFGate reported.

"Unfortunately, the video doesn’t seem to be 100 percent complete," Nelson told SFGate. "We're not getting the entire picture. With that said, the sheriff has ordered a complete and immediate investigation."

But San Francisco Defender Jeff Adachi argues that the video speaks for itself. The video of the beating, he said, was "reminiscent of Rodney King" and shows that the suspect "didn't pose any threat at that point, and [the deputies] are clearly using excessive force and trying to seriously hurt him when he was on the ground and subdued."

"I don't see any reason why he couldn’t be handcuffed and taken into custody. The blows, after they took him to the ground, were excessive by any measure, any standard. It's shocking to see," Adachi added.

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The suspect was hospitalized following the encounter, KQED reported. The Alameda County Sheriff's Office is currently investigating to determine if the deputies used excessive force.

Watch the full video here.