Louisiana Cops Seen on Video Pummeling Suspect on the Ground During Arrest

12:53 PM PT -- The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office confirmed in a news release Friday the use-of-force incident is under investigation. Officials said deputies were responding to multiple reports of a man walking in traffic and making obscene gestures at drivers Thursday night. The suspect, identified as Le Chau, allegedly began fighting with the female deputy who was first to arrive and who tried to handcuff the man. The fight went to the ground, and a second arriving deputy helped detain the suspect ... who allegedly ignored requests to stop resisting and fighting, resulting in the strikes to his head.

Chau was handcuffed and then treated at a hospital. When he was later booked for resisting an officer with force or violence, battery on a police officer, and disturbing the peace by intoxication, officials say, he again "initiated a physical confrontation" with deputies, resulting in more charges. The Sheriff's Office says Chau has been arrested more than 20 times since 2014, with multiple convictions for resisting an officer.

Law enforcement in Louisiana used a suspect's head as a punching bag during an arrest in broad daylight on a public street -- and the vicious beatdown was all caught on video.

Check out the wild footage, obtained by TMZ ... two cops are trying to restrain the man who is lying on his side on the the ground in Harvey, LA, in the New Orleans metro area, around 6:30 PM Thursday.

As you can see ... one the officers is kneeling down to cuff the man while the other cop is standing over him during the struggle.

Suddenly, the cop who is standing delivers 3 crushing blows to the man's head with his fist ... followed by a brutal stomp on his skull. With each blow, you can see the man's head jerk violently up and down, with his skull bouncing off the pavement with the final two strikes.

We don't know yet what led up to the caught-on-camera police assault ... but eyewitnesses told us the man's face was bloody, although it was unclear the extent of his injuries.

Witnesses also told TMZ ... 7 to 8 police cars arrived on scene as officers handcuffed the man and eventually placed him inside one of the patrol vehicles, whisking him away.