Victoria Police Chief Jamie Graham has pledged to "get to the bottom" of what happened in a weekend incident caught on video that appears to show a police officer kicking a subdued suspect.

The officer now faces a criminal investigation by the Vancouver police.

"I assure you, I give you my word, we will get to the bottom of what happened on Saturday night," Graham said at a press conference Wednesday. "And I will be as open and transparent as the law allows."

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"The issue which will have to be determined is the level of force used by the officers involved," he added. "Was their use of force excessive considering all of the circumstances, and what was perceived by the officers who were actually involved in the incident?"

The violent arrests occurred late Saturday night, outside a bar in a busy part of downtown Victoria.

On Monday, a bystander who had captured a portion of the incident on video posted it to YouTube. The 56-second video clip had been viewed nearly 50,000 times by Wednesday afternoon.

The officer has been placed on desk duty until the investigation wraps up.

Victoria police are also conducting an internal investigation.

Meanwhile, one of the men who says he was detained in the incident is planning to sue the local police department.

"There will be legal matters taken. I'm not going to let this stand," Harpinder Kang told CTV News Channel.

Kang said he is the first man to be taken down by police in the video. It shows an unidentified person who appears to be restrained, lying on the pavement, when another officer runs over and appears to kick him.

"That is totally uncalled for," someone says behind the video camera.

"Don't worry Johnny, I got evidence," another voice says. "They shouldn't be kicking him like that."

Next, the video shows police kick a second man twice as they wrestle him to the ground. A third man sits on the grass with his hands behind his back.

Victoria police issued a statement about the incident on Tuesday.

"At around 12:30 a.m. three officers on foot patrol witnessed a fight involving eight males and saw a victim of an assault lying on the ground being kicked in the head by a suspect," the statement reads. "The officers eventually wrestled six people into custody."

"The victim found lying on the ground was rushed to hospital with a head injury, he was treated and released and is refusing to cooperate with police. The combatants were all released without charges approximately 45 minutes later." 

Warning: The video below contains offensive language.