Footage has emerged of the violent arrest of a flower vendor working in front of a high school during graduation day in Perris, CA, USA.

The video, shot on June 7, shows the police officer grabbing the woman by the hair and tackling her to the ground after she resisted the arrest.

Once on the floor, the policeman handcuffs the street vendor who can be heard protesting in Spanish.

According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department's statement, 15 flower vendors were approached by police that day and were found to be vending without a permit.

The statement says that the woman in the video, identified as Juanita Mendez-Medrano, 52, was arrested after she refused to cooperate.

Describing the scene, the filmer wrote: "the sheriff was being rude and kept asking the same questions to the lady as she kept saying in Spanish 'I don't understand' and 'I don't speak English.'"

"Instead of calling for help the man just raised his voice and said things like 'you live in America now speak English.'"

"At that point the lady tried walking away and the sheriff kept blocking her until he grabbed some of her flowers and threw them on the ground; that's when I got my tablet from my pocket and starting taking pictures," he added.