BUSTED: Newly released video shows Hartford cop stomping on handcuffed suspect's head

The Hartford Police Department this week released a dashboard camera video showing one of its officers stomping on the head of a suspect who had already been handcuffed and who was kneeling on the ground.

Per local news station Fox 61, the video shows the aftermath of police successfully pursuing and arresting suspects Ricardo Perez and Emilio Diaz, who this past June allegedly stole a car and struck a detective while trying to escape.

In the video, the two men are clearly handcuffed and have been forced to kneel on the ground by a tree on the side of the road. At one point, an officer who has been identified as Sgt. Sean Spell walks over and puts his foot on one of the suspect's heads and then violently slams it down to the ground.

A prosecutor is investigating whether police used excessive force during the arrest, and Spell's actions on the video are obviously a part of that case. Spell retired from the force just a few weeks back after serving 20 years on the force.

The Hartford Police Department said this week that it had wanted to release the video of the incident sooner, but that it was prevented from doing so by the Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office.

"In sensitive incidents related to police use of force it has been our practice to release as much information as possible as soon as it is available," the department said. "We had sent several requests to the Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office (on the record) to share the video with our community and public. Those requests were previously denied."

Check out the full video of the incident below -- Spell stomps on the handcuffed suspect's head at around 3:08.