SAN JOSE — City leaders on Tuesday are expected to award a $525,000 settlement to a man who suffered permanent brain damage after a San Jose police officer slammed him face-first into a concrete floor while he was handcuffed.

The incident, which was caught on tape, unfolded in the early morning hours of April 1, 2013. After a night of drinking at an Easter party, 26-year-old Dawit Alemayehu decided to hail a cab home. When the cabbie dropped him off in front of his Campbell apartment, Alemayehu realized he forgot something inside the car.

He flagged down the cab driver to come back. It was then that Campbell police officer Brendan Bligh spotted Alemayehu — who admitted to being drunk — and arrested him for public drunkenness. When Bligh took Alemayehu to the secluded loading area for inmates at the Santa Clara County Jail, a San Jose police officer intervened and the situation took a turn for the worse. Alemayehu ended up unconscious and in the hospital.

Alemayehu in 2014 sued San Jose, the police department, Officer Jorge Garibay and his supervisor, Sergeant Doug Tran, claiming civil rights violations involving excessive force and malicious prosecution after the cops filed a report alleging he resisted arrest.

San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle called it an “unfortunate” situation, and said the video was a “real cause for concern” for the city.

“It was concerning because (Alemayehu) went down not having the ability to brace his fall and being knocked out,” Doyle said Monday.

The altercation began when Campbell officer Bligh tried to remove Alemayehu’s belt — not allowed inside jail — and to pull up his sagging pants. The lawsuit alleges Alemayehu, an immigrant from Ethiopia, may have thought the officer was trying to sexually assault him.

“In his native country, it was not uncommon for police officers to sexually assault prisoners,” said Jeffrey Kallis, one of Alemayehu’s attorneys. “When they started to remove his belt, that is probably what was going through his mind.”

Alemayehu, who was in handcuffs, began to panic and asked Bligh to stop. A video recording from Bligh’s body-worn camera and reviewed by this news organization captured the four-minute exchange.

“Take your belt off,” Bligh calmly told Alemayehu. “You can’t go in here with your belt on.”

“No, no,” Alemayehu insists. “I didn’t do nothing.”

The video shows San Jose police officer Garibay approaching Alemayehu and offering to help without being asked. Within 10 seconds, Garibay asks Bligh, “Do you want me to take him down?” and then just before he gets a “yes” response, Garibay is seen performing a “leg sweep” on Alemayehu — a move that throws him to the ground face-first.

Alemayehu is immediately knocked out, the video shows, and doesn’t regain consciousness until hours later at Valley Medical Center. Bligh appears surprised by the use of force by the San Jose officer.

“I didn’t think you were going to take him down,” Bligh is heard telling Garibay.

“Well, he started kicking,” Garibay responds.

“Yeah, but, I mean, he’s not a big guy …” Bligh says, his voice trailing off. He’s later heard estimating that Alemayehu weighs about 110 pounds.

Garibay, the San Jose officer, is heard telling Bligh, “I didn’t mean to make your day worse, dude,” with a chuckle. The two cops are then joined by a half-dozen jail staff members who call an ambulance.

According to the lawsuit, Alemayehu suffered internal brain bleeding, an eye injury that led to vision problems and a seizure disorder. Alemayehu, who works in retail, missed a month of work and sued for lost wages, pain and suffering and attorney’s fees.

“He’s happy to put this situation behind him and move on with his life,” said Steven M. Berki, one of Alemayehu’s attorneys. “He doesn’t believe he deserved to be body-slammed on his face while he was handcuffed and defenseless.”

The lawsuit claims Alemayehu was thrown to the floor because he’s African-American.

“How many Caucasians are thrown to the ground and end up with brain injury?” Kallis said.

San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia declined comment Monday. Doyle said the $525,000 settlement is taxpayer dollars coming out of the city’s litigation reserve fund.