[There was a video here]

An alleged horse thief went down in a swarm of San Bernardino Sheriff's deputies Thursday while an NBC helicopter captured the brutal scene from above.

NBC reports the cops began chasing the man when he fled the scene of a search warrant—apparently in a Dodge minivan. Eventually he abandoned the car and continued his escape on stolen horseback.

Officers were eventually able to tase him off the horse—and thus commenced a two-minute beatdown so large some officers had to step back to let other officers get a chance to hit and kick the man.

The group surrounding the man grew up to five sheriff's deputies as several appeared to kick, hit, and punch him dozens of times over a two-minute period. In the two minutes after the man was stunned with a Taser, it appeared deputies kicked him 12 times and punched him 29 times. Eleven blows appeared to be to the head as seen from aerial footage. The allegedly stolen horse stood idly nearby.

After the frenzy subsided, the man reportedly lay still, without any medical attention, for more than half an hour. A sheriff's spokesperson tells NBC two officers were treated for dehydration and one may have been kicked by the horse.

[video via NBC]