Police throw 15-year-old boy to ground after he allegedly blocked traffic and tried to flee

Incident is under investigation and has been referred to internal affairs

A teenage boy allegedly resisting and attempting to flee police was grabbed by the neck and pulled to the ground in a video that has gone viral across social media.

While the video showed a shortened version of the exchange, police said the boy was part of a larger group of bicyclists riding through New Jersey that were blocking traffic and causing a safety hazard.

Ridgewood police said the incident is under investigation and has been referred to the Internal Affairs Unit due to the use of force and the public response.

The 15-year-old from Sloatsburg, New York, who can be heard yelling at officers to get off him and let him go, was issued four summonses for motor vehicle violations.

Ridgewood Police Department chief, Jacqueline Luthcke, said the group of cyclists ignored repeated orders to stop as they approached a section of the central business district that had been closed to traffic for a "Welcome back Ridgewood" event.

"One bicyclist disregarded the safety of others and began to pass the officer as the officer was speaking with the group," Ms Luthcke said in a statement shared with Ridgewood Daily Voice.

"After some conversation, the officer advised that bicyclist that he was going to be issued a summons... At that time, the bicyclist attempted to flee and began to pull his bicycle away from the officer. The officers on scene then attempted to take custody of the bicyclist and the bicyclist continued to actively resist the officers."

Photographer Boyd Loving, who captured the incident on Sunday afternoon, posted images to Facebook describing the group as a "flash mob" of bicyclists.

"The bicyclists were initially observed disrupting traffic on Lincoln Avenue in Hawthorne," Mr Loving said in the post.