NYPD Beat Pregnant Woman's Belly With Baton, Lawyer Says

The lawyer of a pregnant woman who appears to be slammed into the ground by NYPD officers in a recently released video now says officers also beat the woman's belly with a baton.

Sandra Amezquita, 44, allegedly tried to intervene in the arrest of her teenaged son, who police say had an illegal knife clipped to his belt, according to the Wall Street Journal. Video of the incident was posted to Facebook by social justice group El Grito De Sunset Park earlier this week.

At a Wednesday press conference, Amezquita and her lawyer released images of injuries to the woman’s abdomen that they say came from an officer’s baton, CBS New York reports.

“She was doing nothing wrong, an innocent victim,” her attorney, Sanford Rubenstein, said at the press conference. “And certainly a pregnant woman—any woman—should not be treated the way she was."

Amezquita also claimed that police burned her belly with a Taser, but Rubenstein said it’s unclear whether that occurred.

After the incident, Rubenstein says his client suffered vaginal bleeding, according to the New York Times. She was treated at a hospital, he said, but it’s unclear if the officers’ actions affected the fetus.

NYPD officers say they approached the teen at about 2 a.m. Saturday in Brooklyn, and he fled about a block before they caught him to him. Then, cops say, his father, Ronel Lemos, and another man allegedly began punching an officer.

Though Amezquita was charged with disorderly conduct, she is not accused of assaulting any officers. Nevertheless, after the video of her arrest, released Tuesday, appears to show officers shoving the 5-months-pregnant woman to the ground belly-first.

When a female bystander tries to get between Amezquita and the officers, she too appears to be slammed to the pavement.

At the press conference, Amezquita said she only approached her son to “console” him before police officers began brutalizing her.

The NYPD has launched an internal investigation into the officers' treatment of Amezquita.

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