Austin city officials call for investigation after trans woman appears thrown to the ground by police in video

Officials in Austin, Texas, are reacting to the release of a video appearing to show a transgender woman being thrown to the ground by police during her arrest earlier this month.

"We have seen an upsetting video shared online and dated March 2nd showing a trans woman being violently thrown to the pavement by an Austin police officer," city council members José Velásquez and Mike Siegel said in a joint statement on Tuesday. "We have taken steps to ensure that this excessive use of force is investigated properly and that appropriate action is taken to ensure accountability."

In the police body camera footage reviewed by ABC News, the woman appears to try to hit someone standing against a building wall. Police approach the woman blowing their whistles, bringing her to the ground and handcuffing her, according to the footage.

Austin police said in a statement released on March 18 that the March 2 incident occurred at approximately 2:30 a.m. at the intersection of Sixth and Neches streets. Law enforcement said they observed a "physical disturbance" in a crowd of people before identifying "an intoxicated individual in a black dress that was attempting to engage in physical confrontations."

APD said officers blew their whistles to get the crowd to disperse, according to their statement.

"Those involved in the disturbance began to disperse, including the subject in the black dress," Austin police said in their statement. "However, the subject relocated to the side of a nearby building and swung a closed fist twice at the face of another individual. At this time, officers again approached the subject to stop the assault. The officer continued to blow their whistle and called out 'Austin Police' to the individual."

The department said in their statement that the woman began pulling her arms away from the officers. An officer reportedly grabbed the individual's arm and "attempted to turn the subject around by pulling them back … the subject went to the ground on their knees and then hit their face on the ground," the department said.

The individual was detained in handcuffs, evaluated by medics and arrested for "disorderly conduct-fighting," according to police.

APD said in its statement that "a supervisor reviewed the incident on-scene and notified the Force Review Unit of the use of force, which is standard practice." Its Force Review Unit reviewed the incident and determined the use of force was within law and policy, the statement continued.

The police department did not immediately reply to questions about claims by city council members that the use of force was excessive and their calls for an investigation regarding the incident. They also didn't reply to questions about the woman’s identity, if she’s still being detained and if she has had prior encounters with law enforcement.

The Austin Police Association, the union for the police department, did not immediately reply to ABC News' request for a statement regarding the incident.

"While our State and Federal governments continue to fail our LGBTQIA+ community, Austin doesn't have to," Council member Zo Qadri said in a statement on X on Tuesday. "I am in contact with the Downtown Safety District and Austin Police Department to get answers, because Austin must be a safe haven for all …"

The incident comes amid growing political efforts to curb civil protections for transgender Americans. President Donald Trump has issued a number of executive orders targeting the trans community. A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Trump's order to ban transgender people from the military.

"At a time when our LGBTQIA+ community is under continuing attacks from the national and state governments, we must do all we can as a City to ensure that all members of our community are safe," Velásquez and Siegel said in their statement.

-ABC's Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.