This is the shocking moment a police officer threw a teenager to the ground after she had earlier filmed him performing a traffic stop.

Nicole Braham, 19, was slammed to the ground by officer Steve Dyke in Chico, California, on Saturday night after he pulled over the teenager and her friends.

Braham, who had been drinking but was not driving the car, resisted arrest before she was shoved to the ground and detained, police said.

Footage of the incident filmed by a friend on her cell phone, shows Braham struggling to free herself from Dyke but does not show why he pulled her over in the first place.

This is the shocking moment a police officer threw a teenager to the ground after she had earlier filmed him performing a traffic stop

Nicole Braham (left), 19, was slammed to the ground by officer Steve Dyke in Chico, California, on Saturday night after he pulled over the teenager and her friends. Maddie Hemphill (right), 21, was also arrested

Genna Little, who filmed her friend's arrest, wrote on Facebook: 'My friend was a victim of police brutality last night in Chico, CA. She was sober and outside her home.

'The officer abused her, both verbally and physically, and then sent her to jail for a "broken tail light" that wasn't broken at all. This officer MUST have his badge removed at all costs.'

Miss Little later edited her post to to remove the reference to police brutality, instead calling Dyke 'overzealous'.

The video shows officer Dyke holding Braham's arm behind her back as she questions why she was arrested.

The teenager tries to wrestle free from the officer, so he throws her to the ground and pins her down just as other police arrive.

While he sits on the young woman's back, he orders another officer to arrest Braham's friend, 21-year-old Maddie Hemphill.

After the video was viewed tens of thousands of times, Chico Police Department put out a statement explaining Dyke's version of events.

Dyke said he saw Hemphill and Braham filming him earlier that night as he pulled over a motorist suspected of driving under the influence.

The video shows officer Steve Dyke holding Nicole Braham's arm behind her back as she questions why she was arrested

The teenager tries to wrestle free from the officer, so he throws her to the ground and pins her down just as other police arrive

The police officer said he ordered Hemphill out of the road as she was putting herself in danger by filming her, before noticing a car with a broken taillight stop next to her.

Later that evening, Dyke said he pulled over a car with a broken taillight, only to then realize that Hemphill and Braham were inside.

Three young women got out of the car and two - Hemphill and Braham - refused to get back in, police said.

Dyke claimed Braham pushed by her so he decided to detain her.

Moments later, police claim, the video shot by Miss Little begins, showing the police officer throwing the teenager to the ground.

'While Braham was pulling away, Officer Dyke made the decision to allow her own momentum to carry her to the ground,' according to a statement from Chico Police.

Hemphill and Braham were both arrested for allegedly resisting arrest. They both received minor injuries to their knees during their arrests.

Hemphill later submitted to a blood alcohol level test which found she was nearly twice over the legal driving limit, however she is not believed to have been at the wheel of the car.