California Investigates 'Horrific and Inflammatory' Video of Police Beating Alleged Mentally Ill Man

California police are currently investigating an incident caught on video showing several officers brutally beating a man who is allegedly mentally ill, after the local police chief admitted that the scene appeared "horrific and inflammatory."

Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin made the comments after a video surfaced Friday showing five police officers from the Salinas Police Department (SPD) repeatedly striking 28-year-old Jose Velasco with batons and tasing him.

But McMillin said said the video shows only half the story, and that Velasco was attacking officers and trying to bite them while under the influence of methamphetamine and alcohol.

The police chief said the officers responded to reports that Velasco was beating his mother, screaming, and jumping onto cars in the middle of a busy, four-lane road before police arrived. Velasco's mother and a woman claiming to be Velasco's sister say he is mentally ill.

"The video alone is horrific and inflammatory," the police chief told KSBW. "Anybody who looks at that video without context would have concerns, because it looks terrible."

Several officers arrived at the scene to arrest Velasco. In the video, which was released on June 5, police officers are shown striking him with a stun gun and repeatedly beating Velasco with batons. Velasco appears to be hit on his head, hands, legs and back during the 45-second beating. Velasco does not appear to put up much resistance. Later in the video, one officer arrives at the scene and strikes Velasco at least nine times. Five officers are eventually shown huddling over Velasco.

Police said that Velasco threw his mother into oncoming traffic and onto the pavement.

"As the officers tried to get Velasco off of his mother by pulling him away, Velasco began to violently resist and attacked the officers," reads an SPD press release. "Two Taser deployments were attempted on Velasco, neither having any effect on him. As other officers arrived on scene, Velasco continued to struggle and resist, eventually needing five officers and the use of batons to control and place him into handcuffs."

Rita Acosta, Velasco's mother, told CNN that her son is mentally ill and that he was having an outburst. She saw him wander into traffic and phoned the police.

"I recognized it was my son; right away I called 911 and asked for a medical unit and a police department to be called," she said. According to Acosta, her son was not attacking her, but he was waving his hands in the air when she attempted to pull him out of traffic.

A YouTube user claiming to be Velasco's sister, Antoinette Ramirez disputed the police officer's account. "He didn't try to kill my mom," Ramirez said. "She walked away just fine."

"My poor brother. He is mentally ill and the cops had no right to keep hitting him he was already on the floor," Ramirez wrote in another comment.

McMillin told Al Jazeera that Velasco's mental health status is "a little unclear."

While Velasco appears to be under control in the video, McMillin asserted that batons had to be used to restrain Velasco because of the effects of the methamphetamine and alcohol.

"He was just incredibly strong because of the methamphetamine, and he's not reacting to pain compliance techniques, like the Taser and so this is what causes the officers to escalate their use of force," he told KSBW.

The police chief was unable to confirm if the police officers at the scene were trained to deal with mentally ill people, but largely dismissed the role Velasco's alleged mental illness played in his behavior and the police reaction.

"This is not a story about the Salinas police beating up a mentally ill person," he said. "This is a story of the Salinas police arresting a man who was beating up his mother while he was under the influence of methamphetamine and alcohol."

Velasco continued to put up a fight en route to the hospital, and "had to be chemically restrained," according to a police statement.

The use of force is currently being investigated by Salinas' police department. Velasco was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, and assault on an officer causing injury.

Related: Body Cam Footage Shows Dallas Cops Shooting Mentally Ill Man Holding Screwdriver