OROVILLE-

A Butte County Sheriff’s deputy has been taken off duty after a video surfaced appears to show him kicking a sitting suspect in the head.

The man who shot the video says suspect Terry Collins and Deputy Sam Burnett were in a fight Tuesday. The video appears to show Collins sitting down, as if to surrender, before Burnett kicks him.

A woman who knew the alleged victim wouldn’t give FOX40 her name or show her face on camera, in fear of police retaliation.

“Terry is a gentle soul and there’s nothing he could have done to deserve that,” she said. “Whether he was black, white or indifferent, no one deserves to be kicked like that. You don’t even do that to a dog.”

Other witnesses report a heated exchange between the two, and that Collins was a threat to Burnett.

The Butte County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post Wednesday that it was aware of the video, but said the video only shows part of what they say happened.

“The video doesn’t look good and upon further investigation you can see the deputy is kicking him in the shoulder,” Sheriff’s Lieutenant John Kuhn said.

There is no dash-cam footage of the incident.

The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident and the Butte County District Attorney’s Office has its own investigation.

Burnett and Collins were both checked out by doctors. Collins was booked into jail on charges of batter on an officer and resisting arrest.

According to a family member, Collins suffers from a mental health condition that law enforcement knew about, but ignored.

“He’s a paranoid schizophrenic and takes medication for that, they are aware of that,” he said. “They should be working with the people they are supposed to protect and serve, they should have handled it better.”