This video showing the Hong Kong police dragging a protester and beating him with batons has gone viral.

The video was taken by a documentary photographer Stanton Sharpe, who was present during the chaotic skirmish between protesters and the police in Kowloon on Aug. 24.

Police brutality

In the short 13-second clip, a man dressed in black, the signature colour of the Hong Kong protesters, is being dragged by police officers dressed in riot gear.

The man appeared to be wounded, with bloodstains on his face, and the officers are seen hitting him with a baton several times.

A subsequent clip showed the man pinned to the ground by several police officers, with more officers surrounding them, telling others to stay away.

In the background, a woman can be heard repeatedly shouting in Cantonese that "he's injured".

Two sides to the story

However, Sharpe's videos, which he uploaded on his Instagram stories also showed protesters engaging in violence, throwing bricks, petrol bombs, and other projectiles at the police.

In this story, they are shown removing bricks from the streets and breaking them into smaller pieces, in order to use as projectiles.

The protesters were also dismantling public railings to use as barricades against the police officers.

Sharpe posted more Instagram stories that showed the police brandishing signs that read "Stop charging or we use force", and warning protesters not to engage in violence.

His stories also showed that the police did begin firing tear gas at the protesters, forcing them to retreat temporarily.

A temporary respite

However, it was clear that the protesters were not ready to give up just yet, as a subsequent story from Sharpe showed they merely retreated several streets away from their original location.

Also in Sharpe's stories, a man is heard urging the protesters to wait to see if the police would continue marching towards them. If not, "they should continue staying there," he said in Cantonese.

Scary.

Hong Kong is currently facing its 12th consecutive weekend of protests, with no end in sight.

Top image from stantonsharpe's Instagram account.