The Los Angeles sheriff’s department is facing scrutiny over a brutal force incident after an officer was caught on camera punching a mother twice in the face as she held her newborn baby. The LA county sheriff, Robert Luna, on Wednesday released footage of the July 2022 incident in Palmdale, north-east of the city of Los Angeles. The encounter started when deputies stopped a car being driven without headlights at night, Luna said. The officers said they smelled alcohol, according to the sheriff, and saw there were three women in the car who were holding their babies and didn’t have car seats. Police said the male driver was arrested on suspicion of driving on a suspended license, driving under the influence of alcohol and child endangerment. Four women in the car were held on suspicion of child endangerment.
