CINCINNATI - Authorities are investigating the arrest of an unarmed deer that was repeatedly beaten and kicked after having been tranquilized by police at the Terrace Hotel.

The incident has sparked comparisons with the 1991 Rodney King beating.

The arrest, captured Wednesday by Dealer staff photographers, showed an officer kicking the suspected buck 11 times with his boot after it appeared the deer had surrendered.

Before police arrived on the scene and pummeled him into submission, the deer had reportedly been trying to break into the downtown hotel.

"There is no denying that it looks very bad from what is seen in the pictures," Police Chief Thomas Streicher said. "But I'm sure our internal investigation will find nothing wrong."

The National Association of Even-Toed Ungulates (NAETU) issued a statement declaring this an act of bigotry and calling for a boycott of local parks.

Several animals including a Rocky Mountain goat and all of the elk walked out of the Cincinnati Zoo today in protest.

Mayor Mark Mallory moved quickly to defuse any potential situation.

"We do not discriminate," Mayor Mallory said, "every buck is deer to us."