5 p.m. update: Addressing the 45-day suspension of an Austin police officer who pepper-sprayed a handcuffed man during this year’s South by Southwest festival, Police Chief Art Acevedo said Tuesday that though departmental policy allows for the use of a chemical agent to gain compliance from restive subjects, the officer was suspended because he had several other options.

Officer Cameron Caldwell was suspended Tuesday for a March 17 incident caught on video by the cop-watching group Peaceful Streets Project. The video shows 25-year-old Tyrone Wilson in the back of a police van as noises come from the back of the vehicle as if Wilson were kicking the door. Caldwell then opens the door and pepper-sprays Wilson in the face, saying "What did I tell you about kicking the door? I told you," before closing the door again.

Acevedo said Caldwell was right to try to gain compliance from Wilson, noting that Wilson was not being cooperative, his hands were restrained in front of him (ideally handcuffs are placed with the person’s hands behind, he said) and that officers have had to deal in the past with people who try to flee from the back of police vans.

But Acevedo and Caldwell’s chain of command concluded during the officer’s disciplinary hearing Tuesday that Caldwell was not justified to use pepper spray on Wilson, noting that he had other options like asking other officers for help to pin him down and restrain his legs.

"There was no reason to pepper spray him and close the door," Acevedo said. "It accomplishes nothing. We are better than that. Officer Caldwell is better than that."

Caldwell agreed to a 45-day suspension. He will also be required to meet with a psychological evaluator who may recommend counseling, which Caldwell would have to do during his own off-duty time and at his own expense. The incident will remain on his file and would be taken into consideration when considering promotions, Acevedo said.

Caldwell also agreed to a one-year probationary period when he returns from his suspension. Caldwell could be indefinitely suspended if another disciplinary issue were to happen during that period, Acevedo said.

Despite the reprimand, Acevedo described Caldwell as an officer with no previous disciplinary issues who "but for this incident has done a pretty good job."

"He has demonstrated in the hearing that he gets it, and I’m willing to stand by him and to save him," Acevedo said.

In a case that gained national attention thanks to the viral video of the incident, Acevedo denied that the decision to reprimand Caldwell was a result from community or media pressure, saying police officials’ decisions were not based "on the direction the wind is blowing."

"We make decisions based on professional judgment," he said. "When employees fall short, our decisions are not the result of a citizen complaint."

Acevedo also took the opportunity to defend the tactics of most patrol officers working in an increasingly chaotic and unruly entertainment district, describing Sixth Street as "a problem" and characterizing policing as inherently "ugly."

"Even when trying to do things perfectly, it never looks good," Acevedo said.

Earlier: An Austin police officer caught on video pepper-spraying a handcuffed man during South by Southwest has been suspended for 45 days.

City officials confirmed that officer Cameron Caldwell agreed to a 45-day unpaid suspension in a negotiated deal with Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo on Tuesday.

Caldwell was caught on video by a member of the copwatching group Peaceful Streets on March 17. The video shows Caldwell pepper-spraying 25-year-old Tyrone Wilson, who had been charged with resisting arrest. Wilson’s case is active and has a jury trial set for Nov. 14, county records show.

Austin police officials held a disciplinary hearing Tuesday morning for Caldwell. His attorney had said Caldwell did not violate any department policies during the incident.

The incident unfolded in the early morning of March 17 during Wilson’s detention on a charge of resisting arrest.

The video shows Caldwell closing the door to a police van, then noises can be heard that sound as if Wilson is kicking the door.

The officer then opens up the door and says, "What did I tell you about kicking the door?"

"I didn’t do nothing," Wilson says.

The officer then shoots pepper spray at Wilson’s face, saying "What did I tell you about kicking the door? I told you," before closing the door again.