A New York Police Department officer was suspended after video surfaced showing him brutally punching a 12-year-old girl while trying to break up a fight on Tuesday.
Horrifying footage showed the still unnamed officer raining blows down on the head of the girl while others tried to pull her from the melee.
The incident took place on at about 2:40pm at bus stop near the Edwin Markham Middle School on Staten Island.
Officers reportedly arrived on the scene to break up a brawl between two sisters, 12 and 14, who were assaulting a separate 14-year-old girl.
The cop in the video was punched by the 12-year-old girl, and responded in turn.
The sisters were both arrested, with the elder being charged with resisting arrest and assault, and the younger with a juvenile report alleging assault, police said.
The unnamed officer can be seen raining blows down on the head of the teenage girl
The officer (center) could be seen repeatedly punching the head of a the 12-year-old girl
The NYPD officer (center) rained a number of punches down on the 12-yaer-old girl's head
The NYPD released a statement on Twitter acknowledging the assault, and said they were investigating it.
'Last evening, the NYPD became aware of an incident that occurred on Staten Island where officers responded to a fight between a group of youths,' the tweet read. 'The actions of those officers is under investigation by the Internal Affairs Bureau. At this time, one officer has been suspended.'
In the video, the officer was seen hammering repeated blows down on the cowering girl's head with the bottom of his fist
Onlookers reacted with horror 'He's hitting her? What the f**k!' a girl could be heard screaming. 'Don't do that!' another was heard crying.
New York City council member for the 49th District covering northern Staten Island tweeted that she requested the NYPD investigate the matter.
'I am encouraged by the NYPD’s swift and appropriate response to this matter,' she wrote on Wednesday. 'Let me be clear - violence against our children is unacceptable will not be tolerated.'
The officer can be seen hamming blows down on the back of the 12-year-old girl's head
Horrified onlookers tried to extricate the teenage girl from the cop's clutches as he attacked
Horrified users on social media reacted to the video - which was posted on Instagram following the ordeal.
One person wrote: 'Doesn't matter what she did; this is egregious. Police have so many other better options.'
Another emphasized how the cop seemed to use excessive force while trying to break up the schoolgirls' fight: 'That is SO excessive.'
A third questioned: 'How much bravado does a grown man need to beat a teen upon the backside of his/her head over and over again?'
And another social media user added: 'The cop threw like 8-9 punches, all of them hammer fists to the back of the head.
'That's literally the most dangerous punch, illegal in every combat sports organization.'