EVANSTON, ILLINOIS — Police have released dashcam footage that shows a black PhD student being arrested on suspicion of stealing his own car.

The incident took place on Oct. 10, 2015, when driver Lawrence Crosby was 25 years old and studying for a doctoral degree in civil engineering at Northwestern University.

Earlier that night, Crosby aroused the suspicions of a member of the public, who saw him trying to fix some loose molding on his car roof with something that looked like a metal bar, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The woman called 911, said she felt bad about racial profiling, but reported a potential case of grand theft auto anyway. She then jumped in her own car and started following Crosby.

The student noticed he was being tailed and decided he would drive to the police station to explain the situation before things escalated.

But by that point, the cops were already in hot pursuit.

During the arrest, Crosby was kneed and struck with open hands as he was swarmed by officers and wrestled to the ground.

Crosby proved to the cops that the car was his and explained he’d been trying to fix something on the roof. So when they couldn’t pin anything on him for theft, the police charged Crosby with resisting arrest and disobeying officers.

Those charges were thrown out by a judge in March last year. Crosby has filed a civil lawsuit against the city and the arresting officers, alleging false arrest and excessive force.

The police however, claim the use of force was justified.