Israeli police announced Thursday that they have opened an investigation into claims of police brutality, after a volunteer police officer was filmed beating and kicking a 65-year-old yeshiva dean in the head in Petah Tikva.

The incident in question occurred on Monday, when a N., a volunteer police officer – who also serves as a volunteer MDA first responder – was filmed punching and kicking Rabbi David Pick outside of a synagogue on Arlozorov Street in Petah Tikva.

Witnesses say the altercation occurred following an argument between N. and Rabbi Pick regarding the wearing of face masks.

N. allegedly accused students at Rabbi Pick’s yeshiva, Avi Ezri, and at the local synagogue of not wearing their masks, and held Rabbi Pick responsible. Yeshiva officials say N. harassed students and was eventually asked to leave the yeshiva, leading to the altercation.

A witness, who lives in the area and prays in the synagogue adjacent to the scene of the incident, told JDN Hadashot that N. frequently inspects the synagogue, instructing those without masks to wear them during prayers. The witness noted that the vast majority of worshippers did wear masks.

An aide to Rabbi Pick said that N. had also visited the Avi Ezri yeshiva Saturday night, calling police on a student who had briefly removed his mask.

“The volunteer officer came Saturday night to the yeshiva and bent over backwards to find someone without a mask, and found someone – after all, it is difficult to sit and learn all day with a mask,” the aide said, according to Yediot Aharonot.

“Afterwards he sent a picture of [the person] to police, who came and said that everything was fine. The next day, the volunteer officer came again, requesting that a [police] team come. On Monday, he came yet again and took pictures, leading to a confrontation between him and the yeshiva’s dean, who said that [the officer] was interfering with studies, and that’s when chaos erupted.”

Part of the altercation was caught on camera, with N. seen knocking Rabbi Pick to the ground, beating him, and kicking him in the head.

Kobi Palmo, the attorney representing N., claimed that the video had been selectively edited, portraying his client’s actions out of context.

“My client is a normative person who found himself under attack without any provocation on his part, simply because of the fact that he had requested that worshippers in a synagogue with him wear masks.”

“The video you’ve gotten has been edited.”

“He stands behind his actions as a kind of self-defense.”

A complaint was later filed with police against N.

In response, the police department issued the following statement: “An investigation was opened immediately after the complaint was received by the police. We emphasize that the incident has nothing to do with the fact that the [suspect] is a volunteer. The incident did not occur during his volunteer service, and he will be thoroughly investigated and handled in the same way as it would with any other civilian.”