NYPD cop caught on video punching and kneeing black suspect in the head while he's held down

In a video uploaded to Instagram on Friday, an NYPD detective is seen repeatedly punching and kneeing a black suspect in the head as he is held down by two others, reports DNAinfo.

In the short video, recorded back in May, the officer is attempting to handcuff the suspect while his partner and a bystander hold the man -- identified as 26-year-old Darnell Simmons -- down.

As the assisting bystander tells witnesses who are pleading to the cops to ease up, "I am trying to help. If he stops fighting, I won’t hit him," the cop repeatedly pounds Simmons on the top of his head. The cop gets one hand cuffed and, as Simmons' face comes into view, he is once again punched multiple times before being kneed in the side of the head.

In a statement from police authorities on Friday, Simmons was spotted by the detectives as he entered the McDonald's where he was arrested and identified as a both a parole violator and as a suspect in a series of burglaries.

Prior to the filming of the arrest, Simmons reportedly fought with the officers, breaking one one officer's nose as well as biting him leading some bystanders to call 911 and report the struggle.

After Simmons was taken into custody, police authorities state the two officers sought medical help for injuries including a broken nose, two herniated disks, and a torn ligament -- with one officer out of commission for two months.

Watch the video below via Instagram:

FUCK THE POLICE!!!! Sorry I can't be political about it... 3 against 1... He's trying to block his face and this pig keep hitting him... This is in the Bronx too smfh @gohardboyznyc shit just fucked up my day bro😡😡😡😡😡

A video posted by Hasan Harris (@hocus45th) on Aug 12, 2016 at 11:19am PDT