NYPD Officer Filmed Slamming Pregnant Woman to Ground
[There was a video here]
An NYPD officer was filmed violently throwing a pregnant woman to ground early Saturday morning. Sandra Amezquita, who is five months pregnant, reportedly suffered vaginal bleeding after the incident, and her arms and stomach remain bruised.
The incident took place in Sunset Park, Brooklyn at about 2:15 am Saturday. Amezquita and her husband, Ronel Lemos, claim they approached the scene and attempted to intervene as police arrested their 17-year-old son, Jhohan, for possession of a knife.
The video, filmed by a witness, shows an NYPD officer slamming Amezquita to ground and handcuffing her before forcefully shoving another woman, identified by the New York Post as Amezquita's friend, to the street.
Amezquita was given a summons for disorderly conduct and Lemos was arrested for assaulting a police officer, reportedly after striking the officer who was arresting his son.
"The first thing I thought was they killed my baby, and they're going to kill my wife," Lemo told the New York Daily News on Tuesday.
"You would think the police would respect a woman that is pregnant," Amezquita added. "I was afraid something happened to my baby. I am still afraid that something is wrong."
The NYPD's Internal Affairs unit is reportedly investigating the incident, which took place just one week after an officer from the same precinct—the 72nd—was filmed kicking a street vendor. That officer was suspended and remains under investigation by Internal Affairs.
