(CNN) Florida prosecutors have charged a Miami police officer they say tried to kick a suspect who was being handcuffed on the ground, in an encounter captured on video.

Mario Figueroa, a two-year veteran of the force, was charged Tuesday with assault, a second-degree misdemeanor, after the cell phone video of the incident surfaced last week.

"Officer Mario Figueroa can have no excuse for the alleged actions seen on the initial videotape," State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a new release. "This community demands respect for all individuals taken into custody."

UPDATE: The Miami Dade State Attorney's Office has charged Officer Mario Figueroa for assaulting a car theft suspect on May 3, 2018. We are beginning the termination process for Officer Figueroa. See full statement below: pic.twitter.com/G7UMFWmKp2 — Miami PD (@MiamiPD) May 8, 2018

Police said they were beginning the process of firing the officer.

In a statement, the local Fraternal Order of Police said Figueroa will be exonerated because he never kicked the suspect, but rather was trying to get the man to comply with police commands.

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