Surveillance video from outside a deli on Lyell Avenue clearly shows Brian Norford being knocked to the ground by a patrol car.

“It’s pretty extreme for them to do that to me I’d think they’d get out of the car to tackle me or something of the sort instead of using a vehicle to stop me,” says Norford.

What’s not so clear though, are the circumstances surrounding it. Norford admits to fleeing from police, but says it was because they were trying to arrest him for jaywalking.

“They said I was jaywalking, the officer then got aggressive with me. I offered my ID to him and he didn’t want it, he grabbed me aggressively and I took off running,” says Norford.

Police on the other hand, say they were investigating a drug deal. They say during the chase he tried to toss a loaded .32 caliber handgun. Norford says he didn’t have a gun, wasn’t dealing drugs, and ran because he feared for his life.

“What I did was ran to the nearest location I know had cameras, which is right here. When I got here the officer pulled in, hit me with the vehicle and then got to beating me,” said Norford.

That’s why Norford’s attorney says they have filed a lawsuit against the Rochester police department, seeking monetary compensation and disciplinary action against the officers involved.

“If people look at the video I think they’ll be a little shocked at how he was hit with this car and while he was still on the ground officers started to beat him, hit him three times about the head and face,” says his attorney, Leland Williams.

Norford, who is currently facing charges for criminal possession of a weapon as a result of this arrest, says he’s suing because he wants police behavior to change in his neighborhood and not because he’s facing criminal charges.

“I would like for the police brutality to stop all around and especially over here on this side of town on Lyell avenue area,”says Norford.