Maryland police officers have been slammed after a handful of cops were filmed tasering a teenager for vaping on a boardwalk.

The incident took place in Ocean City, and saw a 19-year-old get tasered after putting his hands in the air as he was surrounded by officers, per New York Post.

Onlookers proceeded to protest as the teenager was forced to the floor, but the police warned them to "back off".

As the teenager is turned and handcuffed, a man can be heard saying: "What is wrong with you?"

"Y'all did that for no reason," another woman says. "He was literally standing there."

Watch the viral footage below:

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People on social media were also outraged by the footage, with one Twitter user writing: "What in the blue hell?! They just dropped that kid for nothing."

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A second added: "Share this video far and wide because apparently they did not get the message regarding police brutality, especially to kids!"

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A third wrote: "Is that five officers?? The taser was completely out of left field. This is truly bizarre. VAPING??"

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However, the police have justified their actions by claiming that they saw the teenager vaping earlier that night.

The Ocean City authority said in a statement that police apprehended the young people after "a large crowd of people began to form around the officers."

They arrested another 19-year-old for "yelling profanities" and approaching the police as the incident took place, and an 18-year-old for "attempting to strike a Public Safety Aide" with a police bike.

Meanwhile, the teen that was tasered was arrested for trespassing on private property next to "no trespassing signs" and refusing to leave when asked by authorities.

Three of the officers can be seen on one of the teenagers in a subsequent clip, and further footage showed one of the young people being escorted from the scene in handcuffs.

A distressed woman can be heard saying: "Are you f***ing serious? For no reason."

Meanwhile, the witness who recorded the incident later captioned the footage: "All of this for one person… because of a vape. This s*** needs to be brought to everyone's attention. Literally HOG TIED him, took his shoes off and took his pants [sic]."

Bystanders also clarified that he was not reaching for his bag, as the police claimed. "He wasn't reaching for anything," they wrote. "He was doing what they said the whole time."

Featured image credit: Jakewhit13 / Stockimo / Alamy

Outrage as viral video shows cops tase teenager for vaping on Maryland boardwalk