Joining the two deputies depicted on video brutally beating a man in the Mission District in November of last year, a third Alameda County Sheriff’s deputy has been placed on leave. So reports KRON 4, which notes that the deputy, a 19-year veteran, allegedly attempted to bribe a homeless couple who witnessed the beating with items stolen from the car driven by Stanislav Petrov — the man shown in the video screaming in pain.

According to the lawyer representing Petrov, the third deputy was hoping that by paying off the witnesses with the stolen goods, they would remain quiet about what went down.

“The deputies who beat [Petrov] not only violated his rights but other deputies covered up by falsifying reports and bribing witnesses,” the Chronicle reports Petrov's lawyer, Michael Haddad, as saying. Haddad alleges that money and a medallion of some sort were taken from the car and given to the unnamed homeless couple. “When the deputies noticed them, they gave them the medallion with some money and cigarettes,” he explained.

The Sheriff's Department, for its part, appears to be taking the claims seriously and is investigating.

"[The deputies] are no better than the criminals they arrested if these allegations are true,” noted the sheriff’s department spokesman J.D. Nelson at a Monday night press conference.

Petrov was arrested after a high-speed chase led the deputies across the Bay Bridge at speeds upwards of 100 miles per hour. Originally, deputies had approached Petrov because they observed the car he was in was reported as stolen. Petrov allegedly refused their orders to stop — crashing into two police cars and injuring an officer as he attempted to make a getaway.

Previously: Sheriff's Deputies Who Beat Suspect On Video Still Await Charges
Video: Sheriff's Deputies Brutally Beat Suspect In Mission District