LEWISTON — Local residents reacted Wednesday to a video showing a police officer subduing a suspect on Bartlett Street the night before.

The video, recorded by a woman who lives in the area, shows an officer slapping the suspect in the face as he attempts to keep the man pinned to the ground.

Police described the blows as “open hand strikes” and say such blows are considered on the low end of the law enforcement use-of-force pendulum.

The driver was originally identified by police as 64-year-old Kim Thurlow. However, Lewiston police on Thursday morning issued a statement saying the driver had given a false identity and was in fact 54-year-old Jeremy Leavitt of Poland.

By the time his true identity was realized, the department said, Leavitt had already been released from Androscoggin County Jail on bail. When officers from Lewiston and the county went to Leavitt’s home to take him into custody, police said, he approached them while holding a crowbar. After he refused officers’ commands, he was Tased and taken into custody.

Leavitt was then charged additionally with failure to give correct name and criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, police said.

The altercation on Bartlett Street began, police said, when the officer pulled over the man for erratic driving near the corner of Bartlett and Birch streets just before dark on Tuesday.

The officer who made the vehicle stop Tuesday night, police confirmed, was Andrew Jarman.

Witnesses said the officer made the stop after the driver of the car was seen swerving in the road before striking a curb. Shortly after the car was stopped, Jarman and the driver began to tussle, witnesses said.

Warning: The following videos are unedited and contain disturbing images and language that may be unsuitable for some audiences.

Some witnesses said the driver bit the officer in the early part of the struggle, but that could not be confirmed.

Ashley Harbin, who lives nearby, recorded the altercation on her phone as the officer and the suspect grappled for minutes on the ground before other police officers arrived.

The footage clearly shows Jarman struggling to keep Leavitt on the ground while waiting for backup.

Harbin estimated it took between three and four minutes before other officers arrived to assist with the arrest. At one point during the struggle, Jarman is seen delivering open-hand strikes to Leavitt’s head.

The strikes, police say, are used to gain compliance while minimizing injury.

Leavitt is seen continuing to struggle after receiving the blows. Once subdued, he was charged with resisting arrest and falsifying evidence.

The latter charge was filed after witnesses told police Leavitt had been trying to hide drug paraphernalia.

Leavitt was taken to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn and released on bail early Wednesday morning.

On Wednesday, hundreds took to social media to offer their opinions of the arrest. Harbin’s video alone garnered nearly 1,000 comments and was shared by 369 accounts.

Opinions differed starkly, with some defending the police officer and others declaring the arrest was unnecessarily violent.

Early Wednesday evening, one woman stood at the corner of Bartlett and Birch streets with a sign denouncing “police brutality.”

Police described Jarman as a skilled and highly respected officer. Although no complaints had formally been filed against him in the Tuesday night arrest, police are reviewing the matter internally.

“While we understand that portions of the video may appear disturbing to some viewers, it is important to note that our body-worn camera footage captures the events leading up to the arrest and provides the full context of the incident,” Lewiston police Lt. Derrick St. Laurent said.

The body camera footage was not being released while the investigation is underway.