An LA deputy punched a woman in the face as she held her 3-week-old baby, video shows

A year later, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has released body-worn camera footage of a July 13, 2022, incident in which one of several deputies arresting a woman at a traffic stop punched her in the face as she held her newborn baby. (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department/Screenshot by NPR)

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has released disturbing body-worn camera footage of a year-old incident in which a deputy punched a Black woman in the face twice as authorities wrested her 3-week-old baby out of her arms despite her pleas.

It happened during a late-night traffic stop on July 13, 2022, when Palmdale deputies stopped a car that was driving without headlights and smelled alcohol coming from it. They found four women holding three infants in their laps, and decided to arrest them and the driver for child endangerment, the sheriff's office said.