'Completely unacceptable': Video shows LA County Sheriff's deputy punched mother holding baby
A California sheriff's department already facing scrutiny after a deputy threw a woman to ground is investigating another incident last year when a deputy punched a mother in face while she held a baby.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which in 2015 settled federal allegations that deputies had engaged in excessive use of force and racially biased policing, released body camera footage Wednesday showing the deputy hitting the woman during a traffic stop.
Sheriff Robert Luna said the incident began just before midnight on July 13, 2022, in Palmdale, California. He said deputies stopped a car driving without its headlights on, smelled alcohol, and encountered a male driver, four women and three infants who were held in their mother's arms without car seats.
They arrested the man for driving under the influence and with a suspended license, and the passengers for felony child endangerment, Luna said. He said a deputy struck one of the women in the face twice during the arrests.
“I found the punching of the woman in these circumstances completely unacceptable,” Luna said at a news conference Wednesday.
Video: Deputy punches woman refusing to give up her child
The sheriff's department released less than nine minutes of footage, which starts with deputies trying to persuade a woman sitting on the ground to hand over the child she is holding. The woman says her baby was not in danger and she was trying to get home.
“We’re going to take the baby one way or another, and I don’t want to be rude about it," one deputy says.
Multiple deputies eventually grab the child and handcuff the woman as she screams. Deputies then move toward another woman holding a baby and attempt to get the child.
"I'm not about to let you take my baby," she says at one point.
Deputies quickly surround the woman holding the baby, obstructing the bodycam view of the confrontation. The woman can be heard screaming before a deputy appears to punch her twice and she is handcuffed.
What happened to the deputy?
The incident occurred before Luna was elected, and the sheriff said it was brought to his attention over the weekend by a chief in the area, prompting him to take action. Luna said the deputy is not in the field, but state law prevents him from disclosing the exact disciplinary actions taken.
The sheriff said he directed his department to refer the incident to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for "criminal consideration," and the FBI office in Los Angeles will also be looking into it. A spokesperson for the district attorney's office told Paste BN the office hasn't received the case yet.
In a statement to Paste BN, FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller said, "The FBI is in communication with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department regarding the July 2022 incident and will review the facts to determine whether a violation of federal law occurred."
Luna said the actions of the other deputies and supervisors at the scene will be reviewed as the investigation continues.
"These incidents can absolutely lead anywhere from training ...(to) days off to dismissal and again, accountability," he said. "The community expects us to hold our employees accountable, and that's what we'll be doing."
Another use-of-force incident also under investigation
Although Luna said he thinks the actions depicted on the video were an isolated event, the revelations follow the launch of another investigation last week into a separate use-of-force incident. A video, which Luna called "disturbing," captured a deputy slamming a woman on the ground, threatening to punch her in the face, and using OC spray on her during a struggle outside a grocery store in Lancaster, California, last month.
Luna said last week that his department notified the county's inspector general and civilian oversight commission as well as the federal monitors who are overseeing the 2015 police reform agreement. That agreement resolved allegations that deputies engaged in misconduct that included excessive use of force and stops that appeared to be motivated by racial bias, according to the Justice Department.
The sheriff's department said in an initial statement two deputies were reassigned from field duty. One deputy involved in the Lancaster incident has been "relieved of duty," Luna said Wednesday.