By DEEPTI HAJELA Associated
Press
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 an officer.
Sandra Amezquita was asking
police to "stop using excessive force" on her teenage son when the
altercation happened around 2:15 a.m., said her attorney, Sanford Rubenstein.
A man can be heard on the video
yelling, "Oh my God, she's pregnant."
"I'm afraid of what is
going to happen to my baby. I pray to God nothing happens to him,"
Amezquita, who is about 5 months pregnant, said through an interpreter at a
press conference.
Rubenstein said the family
plans to meet Monday with prosecutors. The Brooklyn district attorney's office
said it could not immediately confirm that, but spokeswoman Helen Peterson did
say "all aspects" of the case were being reviewed.
Rubenstein said Amezquita had a
mark on her stomach and he wants the DA to look into whether she was hit with
an object.
"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 earlier Wednesday.
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 fetus 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.
A neighbor, Mercedes Hidalgo,
said at the press conference that she was pushed when she tried to tell
officers that Amezquita was pregnant.
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.
