NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police are investigating an altercation between officers and a pregnant woman that was captured on amateur video, officials said Wednesday.
The video shows an officer struggling with a woman who police say tried to intervene in the arrest of her 17-year-old son early Saturday morning in Brooklyn. The woman is taken to the ground on her stomach by the officer.
The woman, Sandra Amezquita, is 5 months pregnant, her attorney Sanford Rubenstein said.
Amezquita was asking police to "stop using excessive force" on her son when the altercation happened around 2:15 a.m., Rubenstein said.
A man can be heard on the tape yelling "Oh my God, she's pregnant."
Rubenstein called the case "appalling."
"It's clear to me when an incident like this occurs you understand why police community relations are at an all-time low," the attorney said.
Internal affairs investigators are looking into the matter, said chief police spokesman Steve Davis.
Rubenstein said another woman who walked over to see what was happening also was thrown to the ground by police; Amezquita's husband was also hurt.
The lawyer said doctors told Amezquita "there's no way to tell" if the baby was harmed.
Police identified the teen as Jhohan Lemos. He was charged with weapon possession, resisting arrest and harassment. Police said he was carrying an illegal knife and has been arrested five times, including for gang assault and robbery.
Amezquita received a summons for disorderly conduct. Two other men were charged with assault, resisting arrest and other charges.
Rubenstein scheduled a news conference with the alleged victims for Wednesday afternoon.
Last week another officer from the same precinct was suspended after a video appeared to show him kicking a street fair vendor and walking away.
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