A drug trafficking arrest has become a potential public relations nightmare for the Abbotsford Police Department, after footage of the violent takedown was posted to YouTube.

The video, shot and posted online by local film production company Earmark Creative shows two officers kicking, stomping and walking on a suspect as he lies face down on the ground.

"Don't. Move. A muscle," a white-haired officer orders the suspect while standing on his hand.

The arrest took place at around 1:00 p.m. on October 9 after an alleged drug deal took place in the driveway of a residence on Bourquin Crescent.

Two uniformed officers stepped in to apprehend three suspects -- a tricky situation, said Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald.

"Our normal formula is that we'd have two officers for every one person we're trying to arrest," MacDonald said. "They didn't have access to their police car, they don't have any backup officers."

MacDonald says suspects, especially in drug arrests are considered threats until they have been handcuffed and searched.

"As easily as they went down, they can get back up," he said. "And it's not unusual for us to come across drug dealers that have either automatic or semi-automatic weapons."

The footage was posted to YouTube the day of the arrest. One of the officers featured in the video found the posting last week and passed it on to his supervisor over the weekend.

On Monday, Abbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich ordered a report be filed to the Public Complaints Commissioner.

"We didn't wait for somebody to complain, we complained ourselves," MacDonald said. "We're hoping that that demonstrates that we're trying to be open and we're trying to be transparent."

None of the suspects who were arrested have filed a police complaint, and none sustained serious injuries in the arrest.

Two of the suspects, a 23-year-old man from Aldergrove and a 20-year-old from Fort Langley are facing drug trafficking charges.

Complaint commissioner disciplinary recommendations range from a verbal warning to a full dismissal, MacDonald said, depending on the circumstances.