Bodycam Video Shows Officer Punching Mom Holding Her Baby During Arrest

A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy punched a woman twice in the face as she held onto her baby during a traffic stop.

Body-camera footage of the incident was released ahead of a news conference to discuss the July 14, 2022, incident and arrest.

During the traffic stop, a man was arrested on suspicion of driving with a suspended license, driving under the influence and child endangerment.

There were also four women in the car and all were being held by police on suspicion of child endangerment.

But one of the women refused to let go of her three-week-old child and she was subsequently punched twice by a deputy.

Sheriff Robert Luna said in a July 12 press conference that the video was released in an effort to be transparent with the public.

During the press conference seen by Newsweek, Luna added: "One of these uses of force involved her mother and her 3-week-old infant who was refusing to let go of her child. During the encounter, a deputy punched the female twice in the face.

"This use of force was assigned to the internal affairs bureau for an investigation shortly after this incident occurred."

He continued: "The event was captured on the deputy's body-worn camera and we have released that video today."

Luna later said: "I found the punching of the woman in these circumstances completely unacceptable.

"While this incident occurred one year ago before my term as sheriff began, I took swift action after learning about this incident several days ago."

Luna added that state law prevented him from disclosing the disciplinary process, but that it would be referred to the district attorney's office for criminal consideration.

The sheriff said he believed the punching was "an isolated incident" and defended the conduct of other officers employed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LACSD).

According to the most recent statistics collected by the Public Policy Institute of California, cities in the state spent more than $14.4 billion on policing in the 2020-21 fiscal year, while counties spent $7.8 billion and the state spent $2.7 billion on the California Highway Patrol.

It added there were 117,600 full-time law enforcement employees in California and that roughly 77,600 were sworn law enforcement officers with full arrest powers and that 40,000 were civilian staff.

Newsweek has contacted the LACSD for comment via its website.