A video that appears to show a black man being punched, kicked and beaten with batons by six North Carolina police officers has gone viral on social media.

Cell phone footage shows the unnamed man, who appears to be resisting the officers, being restrained in the middle of a street in Raleigh.

According to WNCN, the man appeared to try to bite one of the officers on the leg. A female officer appears to beat him in the head.

Cell phone video appears to show a black man being punched, kicked and beaten with batons by six North Carolina police officers on a street in Raleigh, North Carolina

The unnamed man appears to try to bite one of the officers on the leg before a female officer knocks him on the head with a baton

Local authorities said they are investigating the incident Friday as the video reached more than 40,000 views on Facebook.

The News & Observer reports that Community activists including Dawn Blagrove of the Carolina Justice Policy Center held a news conference to say the department needs to address problems with use of force.

'In the spirit of transparency, we have proactively made the District Attorney's office aware of this situation. The Raleigh Police Department offers no further comment on this ongoing investigation,' said the department in a statement.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman also released a statement, saying: 'I have requested that all available video including body cameras and dash cam video be provided to my office for review.

'I am in consultation with the state Bureau of investigation and once we have completed a review, will be making a determination as to what the appropriate next steps are.

'We are requesting the community's patience as we go through this process.'