LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy struck a mother holding a 3-week-old baby during an arrest last year in a case that was referred to prosecutors, the sheriff said.
The woman was punched twice in the face on July 14, 2022, after she and other women with children were arrested for alleged child endangerment after a traffic stop, Sheriff Robert Luna said.
“I found that hitting the woman in these circumstances is completely unacceptable,” Luna said at a news conference.
The deputy was not identified. The incident happened before Luna was sheriff. He was elected in November, defeating then-Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Luna was sworn in as sheriff in December.
The woman was punched after officers stopped a vehicle for driving without headlights just before midnight on July 13, 2022 in Palmdale, Luna said.
Agents smelled alcohol and made the “discretionary decision” to arrest three female passengers who had three babies in their arms but not in their car seats, as well as the driver, for child endangerment, Luna said.
Body camera video released Wednesday shows one of the women telling officers “you won’t take my baby,” and there is a struggle.
At least one officer says the child is being hurt, the mother says to let go and “you’re breaking his… leg,” and an officer shows up to punch her twice in the face, the video shows.
Luna said one of her area managers brought the incident to her attention over the weekend. He said he took action, but state law prohibited him from disclosing disciplinary actions.
Luna said the deputy has been relieved of field duty.
He said he directed the department to refer the matter to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for criminal consideration. He said the FBI would also look into it.
Laura Eimiller, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said the FBI was in contact with the sheriff’s department “and will review the facts to determine whether a violation of federal law occurred.”
Video released Wednesday also shows a different woman having her baby taken from her as she sits on the floor, holding the child wrapped in a blanket.
For several minutes, the video shows the woman talking to officers around her about the traffic stop. A deputy tells her that she was endangering her child and a deputy asks, “Are you going to hand over the baby nicely, or am I going to have them grab it and grab your hands? I don’t want to do that, but those are your two options.
The officers take the baby away and handcuff the woman as she sits, the video shows.
Earlier this month, the sheriff’s department said it was opening an investigation into a different incident in which an officer threw a woman to the ground outside a grocery store in Lancaster. NBC Los Angeles has reported.
Deputies were responding to a call about people fighting with store loss prevention officers, the station reported, and Luna said deputies tried to detain two people matching the description provided when it escalated.
That deputy is no longer in the field, Luna said Wednesday.
Palmdale and Lancaster are cities in the Antelope Valley, in Los Angeles County, but north of the city.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district includes Palmdale and Lancaster, called the video posted Wednesday “heartbreaking.”
She said there have been calls for more transparency in policing in the Antelope Valley.
“Discipling members, including firing them, is an immediate but short-term solution,” Barger said in a statement. “Investing in training and increased supervision produces lasting change.”
In 2015, after a federal investigation found patterns of excessive use of force, bias, and illegal searches and seizures, the Department of Justice Announced an agreement with the sheriff’s department over its stations in Lancaster and Palmdale to promote reforms.
The male driver of the vehicle at the July 2022 traffic stop in Palmdale was arrested on charges of driving with a suspended license and driving under the influence of alcohol, Luna said.
The performance of other deputies and supervisors who were there is also being reviewed, he said.
“I still believe this is an isolated incident that was committed by a person who will be held accountable, make no mistake about it,” Luna said Wednesday. She said the Palmdale incident and others would be used to improve training.
