MACON, Ga. — The Bibb County Sheriff's Office is investigating a video that shows a deputy punching a man several times outside a gas station.
Sheriff David Davis says it happened Sunday night outside the Flash Foods on Pio Nono Avenue, while deputy Nicholas Denny arrested Marquez Lewis for allegedly stealing two cases of beer.
A viewer captured the incident on his cell phone.
"Quite frankly, when I saw the video and saw what was going on, it was sort of disturbing to see the strikes to the head and those kind of things," says Davis.
Davis says he was surprised to see his deputy's fists flying, but says body cam footage shows more of the story.
Davis pointed out where Denny handcuffed Lewis' left hand, but couldn't get the cuffs on his right hand because Lewis was resisting.
Then, Denny asks Lewis to put his hands behind his back several times and tried using his Taser, but it didn't work.
Sheriff Davis says at that point, it "became a street brawl."
"Obviously, we don't want our deputies punching people in the face," says Davis." But because of the handcuffs -- you have to control the handcuffs, the taser wasn't working -- it becomes, at that point, a street brawl. The deputy has to do what he has to do to keep control of the situation."
Davis says they're conducting an internal investigation to determine if Deputy Denny's use of force was appropriate. Deputy Denny remains on the job while the investigation is underway.