Footage of Queensland Police pinning and punching a disabled man with half of his legs missing has gone viral, sparking outrage and allegations of unreasonable force.

In the five-minute video, three officers are seen arresting the 20-year-old man and a woman, 18, who were suspected of attempting to steal wine at the Sunnybank shopping centre, in Brisbane's south, on Saturday.

The footage was uploaded to Facebook by Declan Liu and has had at least half a million views, with hundreds condemning the officers for using too much force.

In the video, two officers are seen pinning down the man, whose prosthetics legs have come off.

The man is put in a head lock, and two officers wrestle to handcuff him, at which point one is seen punching the alleged offender four times.

"Get off me," the man repeatedly yells, in between expletives.

The woman is also pinned by a policeman while on the ground.

She begins wailing, and is hauled to her feet by her handcuffed wrists, at which point she hits a table, sending a plate flying.

"We haven't even done anything wrong," the woman yells.

"I care for him, he's disabled.

"Get off me, get off me.

"You are hurting me. My arms are hurting so much. Stop it."

Police were approached for comment on whether too much force was used but did not comment specifically.

A spokesman said the service was aware of the video and were "looking into the circumstances".

The Queensland Police Union defended the officers, accusing the alleged offenders of acting up for the cameras.

The man and woman will face the Holland Park Magistrates Court on December 4 on three charges, including stealing.

Crowd in disbelief and angered by arrests

A large crowd had gathered during the arrest, becoming outraged at the pair's treatment.

Mr Liu uploaded his video to Facebook on Saturday, which was viewed 479,000 times, shared by 14,000 people and attracted more than 5,000 comments.

Other websites have also shared the footage, also attracting a large audience.

Comments on the video were split, some argued that the alleged offenders made matters worse, while others believed unreasonable force was used.

Mr Liu said the pair resisted arrest in the beginning and the incident escalated quickly.

"Police handled the situation terribly," Mr Liu said.

"They went way too far. It was a pretty horrific scene."

Sunnybank Plaza worker Guy Gibson called police after a disturbance at a back dock of the shopping centre.

He said he followed the pair until police arrived.

"All they were doing was their job and... if someone is using force against them, they have to use force back," he said.

Terry O'Gorman, vice-president of Queensland Council of Civil Liberties, did not want to prejudge police, however said it was a worrying video.

"It appears to show significantly unjustified force," Mr O'Gorman said.

"This is a matter that has alarmed many people."

Alleged offenders acted up for the cameras, police union says

The Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers supported the actions of the officers.

Mr Leavers said when the camera was not rolling, the officers initially handcuffed the man and then released him to allow to reattach his prosthetics legs, which had fallen off.

It was at this point the man allegedly became violent, which was captured on camera.

"We know everything is under CCTV; we have nothing to fear," he said.

"These people had an opportunity to either comply with police and we know that is not the case and they acted up for the cameras."