A former federal police officer who was tackled by five officers on the Gold Coast has claimed his arrest was unlawful.

Paul Gibbons told 9NEWS he was holidaying in Surfers Paradise when police arrived at his apartment complex, looking for another man.

He told 9NEWS he let five officers into the complex lobby, but was told his actions to comply with their requests were not quick enough.

Mr Gibbons said he felt uncomfortable and lifted his mobile phone to start filming the encounter, to which officers responded by tackling him.

Security video shows officers pushing Mr Gibbons to the ground and handcuffing him.

The arrest, and Mr Gibbons' injury. (9NEWS)

"The senior constable who was taking notes slapped my phone out of my hand, and they crash-tackled me," Mr Gibbons told 9NEWS.

He claims his arrest, which left a large scratch on his neck, occurred because he tried to film the officers.

He said his video of the encounter was deleted, as well as all other footage of his Gold Coast holiday.

"During this time I said 'Am I under arrest?' and they said 'If you don't unlock your phone we're going to take you down the watch-house and on the way we'll fill you in'."

"I said 'Well what will you charge me with?' and they said 'Doesn't matter, we'll just load you up'."

The security video shows different officers handling his phone over a 10-minute period.

The phone is bagged as evidence and then removed three times.

"One of the officers walked up and said 'I can't get in to your mobile phone'... I said 'Well you need my fingerprint to unlock it', he said 'Give me your fingerprint or I'll smash your phone'," Mr Gibbons said.

He has reported the arrest to the Crime and Corruption Commission and has called for a formal investigation.

"In my opinion, they are not fit to wear a uniform," Mr Gibbons said.

Lawyer Campbell MacCallum said charges could be laid in the event of police removing mobile phone data.

"That can lead to criminal charges, certainly criminal charges against the police officers involved," he said.

Criminologist Terry Goldsworthy said the only logical conclusion as to why police officers would delete phone footage would be if it were "something they don't want to be made public".