A black man who was hurled to the ground and punched repeatedly in the face by a police officer after he was caught jaywalking has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and county of Sacramento.

Nandi Cain claimed Monday he was targeted because of his race and was abused in jail after his arrest earlier this month.

The lawsuit seeking unspecified monetary damages for Cain also named the officer as a plaintiff and identified him as Anthony Figueroa.

Cain told reporters that his memory of the event is blurry because he suffered a concussion and could barely see because of a black eye and that his nose was broken.

Burris said Cain was guilty mainly of 'walking while black' and that the incident reminded him of the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King in Los Angeles.

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Nandi Cain, pictured, discussed the beating he received from a Sacramento Police officer two weeks ago during a news conference on April 24. He is filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city and county

Cain said he was targeted because of his race and said he was abused in jail after his arrest

Shocking video taken by Cain's friend Naomie Montaie shows a police officer identified as Anthony Figueroa beating him on April 10

Four white police officers were acquitted in King's beating 25 years ago, sparking days of deadly rioting.

Police who had criticized the officer's actions during the widely publicized April 10 event captured on video had not identified him, saying only that the officer was a two-year member of the force placed on unpaid administrative leave.

Sacramento police on Monday did not immediately respond to phone and email messages seeking comment.

Figueroa also did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about the lawsuit or the April 10 incident.

Officials have said the incident happened when Cain was told by the officer to stop because he had jaywalked on a residential street in California's state capital.

Cain's attorneys said they did not know the race or ethnicity of the arresting officer.

Cain, pictured at the news conference, allegedly jaywalked on a residential street and was pulled over by the officer

Officials said that Cain did not stop, which Figueroa asked him to do, and proceeded to challenge Figueroa to a fight

Cain, 24, refused and challenged the officer to a fight, officials have said.

Video taken by a police cruiser dash camera and bystanders captured Cain complaining the officer was stopping him 'for nothing.'

His friend Naomi Montaie shot video of their interaction and told Fox 40: 'I never witnessed anything like that. He just kept hitting him, and kept hitting him, and I was like, "Oh my God...why you hitting him like that? Why you hitting him like that?"'

Video shows Cain saying: 'If you were a real man you would take your gun away and fight me like a real man.'

The officer then lunged at Cain and tackled him, punching him repeatedly, according to the video released by the police department.

Dashcam video shows Cain getting arrested after he was beaten. He had an outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrant, police said

Cain, pictured kicking the interior of a patrol car, said he was mocked and beaten as he was stripped naked upon reaching a Sacramento jail

Video of the confrontation filmed by a bystander went viral and generated outrage across the U.S.

Cain was handcuffed for suspicion of resisting arrest and an outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrant, authorities have said.

Police said he continued resisting by kicking the interior of a patrol car and was restrained with a leg hobble.

After being brought to a jail, Cain was repeatedly kneed in the ribs by corrections officers who also used their knees to pin him down while stripping off his clothes, said the federal lawsuit filed Sunday in Sacramento.

'I've been embarrassed and discriminated against when all I've been trying to do is go home from work,' Cain told reporters.

Cain cried out in pain while he was naked on the floor of the jail and was mocked by the corrections officers, the lawsuit said.

It said he was left alone in a cell without medical attention, food or the ability to make a phone call.

He was released after nine hours and no charges were filed against him.

Montaie said: 'I never witnessed anything like that. He just kept hitting him, and kept hitting him, and I was like, "Oh my God...why you hitting him like that? Why you hitting him like that"'

Since then, Cain said he has been depressed with nightmares and cold sweats and unable to sleep or eat regularly. He said he is still receiving medical treatment for the concussion.

Cain speculated that he might still be in jail if a bystander had not initially posted video of the confrontation.

'Racism is still alive, and you would think, it's 2017 that it would die, but it still exists,' Cain said.

He added that he had been racially targeted before but that this event marked the first time it was captured in images.

He added: 'Now that we brought it to surface, justice will be served and we will make sure that this doesn't happen to anybody else.'

The police department and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg have previously called the officer's behavior disturbing and unreasonable.

Burris contested the allegation that his client was jaywalking.

'But jaywalking in and of itself does not and should not ever result in a person being beaten about his face and head without a justification for it,' he said.