A COP has been caught on camera punching an unarmed black man to the floor after a row in a restaurant.

In the footage, Miami officer Adriel Dominguez is seen arguing with Lowell Poitier Jr, 35.

After appearing to grab something off the top of the stand, he then makes a gesture towards the officer.

In the video, a voice can be heard saying: “Watch yourself bud” a couple of times before Poitier responds: “What? what?”.

Dominguez then squares up to Poitier and slams his right fist into the left side of his face, knocking him to the floor.

The 62-second footage was obtained by another police officer, Frederick Dominguez, who has no relation to the officer in the footage, and then passed on to the Miami Herald.

According to the police report of the incident, the confrontation began when customers and staff at the Pelican Hotel restaurant in Miami Beach said Poitier was irate and refused to leave.

He is described as a homeless man who has been arrested a number of times for non-violent offences and has also faced domestic violence charges.

Officers arrived around 9pm and were told by a witness that Poitier was calling two women “f***ing gringas”, a Spanish word that means white women.

The report says Poitier aimed abused at the officers and Dominguez punched the man after fearing for his safety.

Poitier suffered a cut lip and was taken to hospital for treatment.

He was later charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest without violence and disorderly conduct and has been released on bail.

Adriel Dominguez, who has been with the force since 2016, has been suspended from patrol duties after the December 3 incident.

Meanwhile Frederick Dominguez, a 12-year veteran of the force, is now demanding whistle-blower protection.

His lawyer, Michael Pizzi said: “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s outrageous behaviour. It’s an assault in broad daylight.

“He clearly did not take a fighting stance or clench his fist to fight the officer like it says in the report.”

But the Miami Beach Fraternal Order of Police, Adriel Dominguez’s union, has backed him.

Its president Robert Jenkins said “body camera’s footage captured the dangerous confrontation with an agitated, angry and physically aggressive defendant".

He added: “There is no question officer Dominguez was legally justified and fully entitled to protect himself.”