A police officer was filmed kicking and pepper-spraying a man in an apparent use of excessive force in the southern town of Netivot, after the man prayed outside of his home in violation of government guidelines aimed at curbing the coronavirus.

In the footage from April 7 that was posted on social media on Sunday, onlookers can be heard screaming as the officer confronts and sprays pepper spray at the man, who tries to shield himself with his prayer shawl. After about a minute, several other officers arrive at the scene to detain the suspect.

The 37-year-old man told Channel 13 that he had been praying outside of his home with several other neighbors. While he said each of them was keeping a distance of two meters from the others, such gatherings have been barred for nearly two weeks by the government’s emergency coronavirus guidelines.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

According to the man, an officer arrived at the scene and the worshipers quickly dispersed. The suspect, however, lagged behind and the officer ordered him to halt. When the man refused, he said the officer sprayed and kicked him.

שוטר מרסס גז מדמיע ומכה בפנים אברך חרדי בן 37 שהלך ברחובות נתיבות בניגוד להנחיות, לא קצת מוגזם? החוק אומר דו"ח, לא מכות לפנים ולרסס גז מדמיע כאחרון העבריינים. pic.twitter.com/gZbto6qWv1 — אריאל אלחרר (@ariel_elharar_) April 12, 2020

“I’m in shock,” a relative of the man told Channel 13. “Even if had indeed violated the guidelines, the officer should not have responded that way. You can see he was walking, not even running, and the policeman kicked him hard.”

The relative told the network that the family plans to file a complaint against the arresting officer.

Police issued a statement calling the man’s account a “complete distortion of reality thanks to a partial documentation that does not show the incident from the beginning.”

“Following a report of an illegal gathering of about 20 people praying, police officers were called to the scene. One of the suspects who violated the order refused to identify himself, resisted arrest, pushed the arresting officer and tried to flee the scene in order to evade arrest for his actions,” police said.

“After he refused repeated orders to surrender and even made death threats, the officer was forced to pursue and arrest the man using a legal amount of force.”

The man was fined for his actions before being released.