Police in Los Angeles tased a Black man who appeared to be trying to flag down a patrol car upon witnessing a car crash nearby.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department told Vice News that around 10 a.m. on December 1, they were notified of a collision. 

When officers neared the scene, they said someone ran onto the road. Officers then got out of their car and there was communication between the two parties.

Police said they had to then use force as a last resort because the man didn't comply. It's unclear what exactly their directives were. 

“Despite their de-escalation efforts, the individual became hostile and a use of force occurred,” the spokesperson said. 

The driver who was involved in the crash posted a partial clip of the incident and detailed the sequence of events. 

"Got into a bad car accident today and this man in the video tried to flag the police down to help us," the person said. "Instead, they hopped out and tased bro."

The footage shows one of four officers firing his Taser at the Black man, who collapsed in front of terrified neighbors. As of December 3, he was still in the hospital.

One witness came out of a nearby house and confronted the officers as they handcuffed the injured individual.  

"Hey, he's not in his right mind!" the witnessed screamed at the officers. "He's not in his right f**king mind!”

Police confirmed that the witness is related to the individual who was tased. Deputies also said they had to tackle and detain the second man because he refused to comply when asked to back up. The distraught relative was released after receiving a citation for battery on a peace officer and obstruction.

One person who identified himself as the boyfriend of a woman involved in the crash said the man was calling for officers' help before tensions escalated. Speaking to Fox 11, the witness said officers got out of their vehicle "aggressively" when the man refused to get out of the way and one of them proceeded to use a Taser during the confrontation. 

One woman, who was heard in the video posted to Twitter, speculated about the relationship between the two men and how mental illness may have been a factor in the incident.

"Something is wrong with him mentally," the woman told the person involved in the crash. "And I think his daddy is trying to say, 'Don't hurt him because there's something wrong with him.' Even when he came over here for your accident, he was talking to me and I can tell that there was something was wrong with him."

The identities of the men involved in the confrontation haven't been released to the public.

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