Three San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies accused of beating a man who took off on a horse say their actions were justified.
Nicholas Downey, Michael Phelps and Charles Foster pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday.
The deputies are accused of beating 30-year-old Francis Pusok at the end of a long pursuit in San Bernardino County — a beating filmed exclusively by NBC4.
Ten deputies were placed on administrative leave April 10, a day after the incident.
But three deputies were charged in the case.
The beating happened after Pusok, of Apple Valley, led them on a nearly three-hour pursuit that began when authorities tried to serve a warrant in an identity theft investigation that Pusok's attorney said had nothing to do with him.