The city of San Antonio has released footage from a police officer's in-car camera of the moment he removed a suspect's handcuffs after agreeing to fight him. The officer involved, Matthew Belver, is currently appealing an indefinite suspension for his actions.

In August 2015, Belver arrested Eloy Leal for interfering in the duties of a public servant while Belver was at the scene of a shooting. In the footage obtained by ABC affiliate, KSAT-12, Belver can be heard agreeing to fight Leal before removing his handcuffs.

When Leal refuses to fight him, Belver puts the handcuffs back on Leal and then proceeds to berate the suspect for not engaging in the fight. He also calls Belver "stupid" and "a coward" for not doing anything.

The audio is muted for the first 28 seconds of the video before the two can be heard speaking. Before taking off the handcuffs, Belver can be heard saying "as soon as they come off I'm gonna beat your ass, that's what I'm gonna do". When the cuffs are removed Leal starts apologising to the officer, saying that he "didn't mean no disrespect".

As he put the handcuffs back on Leal, Belver can be heard saying "I thought something was going to come out of this, I thought you were going to f***ing fight... I thought this was going to be a good fight but nah, you changed your mind."

Leal starts asking whether the officer was honestly going to fight him, to which Belver says "honest to god." The 17 minute video goes on to show Leal in the back seat of the police car while Belver loudly tells him that he is disrespectful.