Shocking footage shows the moment an unarmed man had a gun held to his head, as a police officer warned: 'I will kill you'.

James Yarborough was also surrounded by four cops, who were seen repeatedly punching and elbowing him.

It happened after he ran from a car which was stopped by officers.

Police chased after him in Charlotte, North Carolina, wrestling him to the ground before the gun was pulled.

The footage shows a gun being held to the suspect's head as he was arrested after running from a car

The cop, identified by WBTV as Officer Jon Dunham, told Yarborough: 'I will kill you, you understand? Give me your hand, now!'

Moments later, a Taser was used on the suspect, and the footage showed officers hitting him in the head, back and neck.

Yarborough has accused the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department of using excessive force during his arrest on March 26 last year.

He told WBTV: 'The only thing I did wrong that day was run. That is the only thing I did wrong that day. I regret running.'

Yarborough has previous federal convictions for illegal firearm possession, and said the man driving the vehicle had offered to sell him a pistol, prompting his decision to run rather than be found alongside the weapon.

When the gun was held to his head, he said he thought he would be killed, telling the network: 'That moment felt like - it felt like it might have been my last day.'

James Yarborough has said officers used excessive force when they arrested him in March last year

After the taser was used, it took more than four minutes to handcuff Yarborough.

In his incident report, Dunham claimed he was concerned the suspect would pull a gun on him, and said he had punched Yarborough six times in the face.

A police investigation found no wrongdoing, with CMPD Major Stella Patterson saying the use of force was 'reasonable'.

She added: 'The officer reasonably believed that he had a weapon on him.'

Charges against Yarborough were dropped due to lack of evidence.

He said: 'Even now I sweat in my sleep. I wake up looking out the window because I’m like "they’re coming to get me again".'

A statement released by the police department to WSOCTV said: 'Officer Dunham and other officers attempted to arrest the suspect who was resisting and refused officers commands to comply and show them both of his hands to ensure that he did not have a gun.

'Officer Dunham subsequently drew his service weapon and pointed it at the suspect in order to gain compliance and place him under arrest.

'After nearly a four minute struggle, the officers were able to take Mr. Yarborough into custody.

'An internal investigation concluded that due to the totality of the events, Officer Dunham’s use of force did not violate department policies and or directives.

'It was recommended that Officer Dunham receive additional verbal communication training following the incident. Prior to adjudication, Officer Dunham resigned from the CMPD.'