A popular strip for nightlife in Adams Morgan turned violent early Sunday morning when D.C. police responded to an incident on the 2300 block of 18th Street NW shortly after 3 a.m.

A video of the incident, captured by a bystander and shared via Facebook, depicts a group of Metropolitan Police Department officers seemingly attempting to subdue a man outside of local bar Columbia Station. In the video, officers appear to hit the man, wearing a silver cap, with a baton and their fists as several onlookers scream and shout; others are eventually pinned to the ground and restrained. “Beat that man for nothing,” a person can be heard saying.

According to MPD spokesperson Dustin Sternbeck, the incident remains under investigation while the department reviews body-worn camera footage and interviews witnesses. When police arrived on scene, Sternbeck says, “there was a disorderly subject” whom security had removed from a nearby bar along with a few friends, based on an “altercation” inside the unnamed establishment. Sternbeck adds that the man turned aggressive and the situation quickly escalated.

“Until we have a better sense of the entire event that transpired, we’re not ready to make a full statement,” he explains.

An arrest report released this morning for the third police district, which includes Adams Morgan, shows that three suspects were charged with “assault on a police officer (simple assault)” around 3:30 a.m. Sunday at 2327 18th St. NW, the address of Club Heaven and Hell. Two of the suspects are identified as male, while the other is identified as female.

Two separate female suspects, per the report, were arrested and charged with “simple assault” at the same address around 3:40 a.m., but it is currently unclear if they were immediately involved in the altercation depicted in the video.

Photo by Ted Eytan via Flickr Creative Commons