News 12 has learned the identity of a man seen in witness video being punched to the ground earlier this month by a City of Newburgh police officer. According to department records obtained by News 12, the man involved was Marquis Freeman.

Court records show the 38-year-old City of Newburgh resident is accused of threatening to assault police during a call for disorderly conduct. They say Freeman failed to comply with orders to step out of the road and later, spit on a female police officer three times after his arrest.

Witness video shows the final moments of the incident when a male officer punches Freeman to the ground and continues beating him while he’s held down by two other officers and Tased. An officer is then heard speaking to witnesses who questioned the arrest tactics used.

“He came up to my car and said he was going to beat the [expletive] out of me,” says the officer. “I should let him punch me in the face, right?”

City officials say an internal and external investigation is underway, including a review of police body camera footage of the incident. They say the primary officer involved has been suspended.

News 12 spoke exclusively to a friend of Freeman’s on Thursday, not far from where the altercation happened Aug. 7 on South William Street. He says Freeman was also arrested for a second time, days after the initial encounter.

“He said they jumped out on him [and] another altercation happened,” says the man who asked not to be identified. “He had four broken ribs. He couldn’t breathe and eventually had to end up going in an ambulance.”

Police records obtained by News 12 show Freeman was arrested for a second time Aug. 14. Both arrests are on various misdemeanor charges and violations.

City officials say they are looking into allegations that Freeman’s ribs were broken during his second arrest.

“This seemed to get from bad to worse,” said Wilbur Aldridge, NAACP Rockland Chapter president. “It crossed the line the moment they started beating him on the ground. Police are supposed to be trained in deescalating situations, not escalating.”

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office says Freeman was given appearance tickets to return to city of Newburgh Court. They say he missed his court appearance on Wednesday and now has a warrant out for his arrest.

News 12 reached out to Freeman’s attorney but didn’t immediately receive a response.

State and local officials confirmed to News 12 that the Attorney General's office has joined the probe into the suspended officer's conduct during the arrest.