ORLANDO, Fla. — As Mascotte Police investigates one of its own over an allegation of excessive-use-of-force during an arrest, we're obtained new video of the incident.

Spectrum News 13 Watchdog reporter Stephanie Coueignoux requested a copy of police body camera video after a public official came to her with concerns over what it contained.

The department initially provided Spectrum News 13 with a blurred version of the body camera video. Now, the unredacted video is giving a clearer picture into what happened February 25.

From Officer Alvin Silverio’s unredacted body cam video, viewers can see the man he's arresting: Eduardo Ramirez.

Silverio has already handcuffed Ramirez's hands behind his back.

In a matter of seconds, the encounter escalates, as seen in video from a responding officer's body camera.

You can see and hear Silverio punch Ramirez a number of times.

According to a Use of Force Report we obtained from the Mascotte Police Department, Silverio says that as a reactionary movement, he effected "approximately two to four knee strikes... and two to four strikes to the defendant's head area with closed hand" after he said Ramirez cursed, refused to walk, and spit on him.

We showed the video to criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor David Haas.

"You can see there's some sort of escalation over here, and then there's the first punch, the second punch, and then a third punch thrown by the officer," Haas said.

Mascotte Police Use of Force Guidelines include diagrams indicating areas an officer should avoid striking unless incapacitation techniques or deadly force is warranted. Those areas include the head and neck.

"(Law enforcement are) trained not to exceed certain levels of force, and I think you have that concern here in that you really have got the officer throwing multiple punches to somebody instead of just getting them onto the ground..." Haas said.

In May, Ramirez — who remains an inmate at the Lake County Jail — denied being physically aggressive toward Silverio.

"I never pushed him. I never touched him. I never did anything to him. He just had the handcuffs on me," Ramirez said.

Mascotte Police, which has a history of allegations and lawsuits, is now conducting an internal investigation into the arrest. The department has 10 officers, including the chief.

Police Chief Eric Pedersen repeatedly declined to speak with us on camera. But City Manager Jim Gleason agreed, addressing whether he is concerned that the internal investigation is being done by the same department where Silverio works.

"Yes, and not that I don’t have faith or trust in our Mascotte Police Department. The state system does not allow us to use independent or transparent investigations. That’s the problem," Gleason said.

According to Florida’s Police Bill of Rights, every police department conducts its own internal investigations. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will only step in under specific circumstances, including shootings involving officers, or if the department in question requests a separate investigation.

FDLE spokeswoman Angela Starke told Spectrum News 13 that it received a written complaint about the Mascotte incident and turned it over to Mascotte Police.

"In the case of Mascotte, we did fact-check some of the information within the complaint, and based on that review, we determined the incident was not criminal in nature. Therefore, we referred the complaint to the agency so that it could do its own administrative review," Starke said.

She said FDLE did not review any body-cam video.

Haas said that if the agency in question doesn’t request an FDLE investigation, an executive officer, such as the governor, could step in.

"But the internal investigation has been handled and is closed by the agency, (and) for the most part, that tends to end the discussion," Haas said.

Mascotte Police started its internal investigation on June 11, almost four months after the incident took place. The department has up to 180 days to complete its investigation.