JERSEY CITY, NJ (WABC/WXTV/CNN) - Police are on the hot seat after a video appears to show officers kicking an innocent man who was on fire.
Miguel Feliz stumbles out of his car on fire, following a police chase that ended in a fiery crash.
But witnesses were really stunned by what they saw next. The man who recorded this video said, instead of helping the victim, police started kicking and beating him.
"Obviously, the video speaks for itself," said Alexander Locatelli, Feliz's attorney.
Locatelli said his client did nothing to deserve being attacked, especially since Feliz was not the person police were chasing.
He believes officers confused Feliz for Leo Pinkston, who was later arrested and charged with aggravated assault. Feliz turned out to be an innocent bystander.
His brother said Feliz is now hospitalized with burns over 30 percent of his body.
In a statement to the Jersey Journal, the local police union president said he thinks the video shows officers trying to put out the fire and pull the man out of harm's way. That explanation doesn't fly with Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop.
"I think any reasonable person that looks at that video would say that those did not look like helpful hands," Fulop said.
Fulop said he wants the officers involved to be fired, and Feliz's family wants action
"He deserves justice," said Angeanette Munoz, a family member. "He's a father, not an animal. He's a human being. He deserves justice."
The case is now in the hands of the Hudson County prosecutor, who is urging people to avoid a "rush to judgment."
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