UNITED STATES NEWS

Mother punched in face while she held her baby sues Los Angeles sheriff’s department

Jul 26, 2023, 9:25 AM | Updated: 12:02 pm

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman who was punched in the face by a deputy as she held her baby sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, alleging excessive force and wrongful arrest.

Yeayo Russell filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the department and the deputies involved in the July 2022 traffic stop in Palmdale, northeast of Los Angeles. The department released body camera video this month.

“This case is about more than just punches,” said Jamon Hicks, one of Russell’s attorneys. “It is about the way the deputies treated this mother.”

Asked to comment on the lawsuit, the sheriff’s department said in a statement Wednesday that the FBI is investigating and that officials are cooperating.

“The Sheriff’s Department affirms that the FBI has made contact to gather documents and other materials pertaining to a use-of-force occurrence in Palmdale,” the department said. “The Department will fully assist in the ongoing investigation, working closely with local, state, and federal investigative agencies.”

Russell was a passenger in a car that was stopped for driving at night without headlights. The deputies smelled alcohol and saw three babies who, instead of being in car seats, were being held, authorities said.

The male driver was arrested on suspicion of driving on a suspended license, driving under the influence of alcohol and child endangerment. Russell and three other women in the car were held on suspicion of child endangerment.

The edited video released by Sheriff Robert Luna shows Russell’s child being taken from her as she shrieks and then a second woman sitting cross-legged on the ground, holding another baby.

Deputies try to persuade Russell to give them the child, and she responds, “You’ll have to shoot me dead before you take my baby,” the video shows. As she resists, a deputy punches her several times in the face, and she is handcuffed.

Russell spent four days in jail, separated from her weeks-old infant, causing her distress, Hicks said.

“Hours and hours she had no idea where her child was. Hours and hours she had no idea if her child was OK,” he said.

Russell is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against the 10 deputies involved in her arrest and jailing.

The deputy who punched Russell was taken off field duty, Luna said when he released the video July 13. The sheriff said that he found the punching “completely unacceptable” and that he had sent the case to the county district attorney’s office, which will decide whether to charge the deputy. He said he also alerted the FBI.

Luna, a former Long Beach police chief, took over the department in December after defeating incumbent Alex Villanueva and vowed to overhaul the nation’s largest sheriff’s department.

“It’s unfortunate that it took a year for this video to even come out. This is something that the public should have seen right away. And the fact that it took a year, and again credit Sheriff Luna for exposing it, shows the mentality of the county sheriffs in that area,” Hicks said.

Federal monitors continue to oversee reforms that the department agreed to for the Palmdale and Lancaster stations, which are among the busiest in the county.

In 2015, the sheriff’s department settled federal allegations that deputies in those stations had engaged in excessive use of force and racially biased policing that included disproportionately stopping or searching Black and Latino people.

United States News

Associated Press

Pennsylvania inmates sue over ‘tortuous conditions’ of solitary confinement

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Solitary confinement conditions in a Pennsylvania state prison are unconstitutional, worsening and creating mental illness in those held there, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of five inmates who say they have spent long periods in “torturous conditions.” With limited mental health resources, some of the plaintiffs inside […]

45 minutes ago

Associated Press

The Supreme Court seems likely to side with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed likely to preserve the work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against a conservative-led challenge. Even some conservative justices sounded skeptical of arguments that the agency, created after the 2008 financial crisis to regulate mortgages, car loans and other consumer finance, violates the Constitution in the […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Colorado high court to hear case against Christian baker who refused to make LGBTQ-themed cake

DENVER (AP) — On the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court victory this summer for a graphic artist who didn’t want to design wedding websites for same-sex couples, Colorado’s highest court said Tuesday it will now hear the case of a Christian baker who refused to make a cake celebrating a gender transition. The announcement […]

1 hour ago

FILE - Republican presidential candidate and former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Iowa Fa...

Associated Press

Former VP Pence to talk national security and foreign policy at AP-Georgetown University forum

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President and GOP candidate Mike Pence will take questions on national security and foreign policy Tuesday afternoon at Washington’s Georgetown University. The appearance will be the first in a series of conversations with 2024 Republican presidential candidates on the topic co-hosted by The Associated Press and Georgetown’s Institute of Politics […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Atlanta will pay $3.75M to family of Nebraska man who died after being handcuffed and held face down

ATLANTA (AP) — The city of Atlanta will pay $3.75 million to the family of a Nebraska man who died after police handcuffed him face down. The City Council approved the settlement Monday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, after the Fulton County medical examiner determined that Ricardo Dorado Jr.’s death on Aug. 21, 2022 was a […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

2 Army soldiers killed, 12 injured in crash of military transport vehicle in Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Two U.S. Army soldiers were killed and 12 others injured after a military transport vehicle flipped on a dirt road leading to a training area in Alaska, officials said. The single-vehicle accident happened Monday as the soldiers headed to the Yukon Training Area near Salcha, or about 30 miles (48 kilometers) […]

3 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

Home moving relocation in Arizona 2023...

BMS Moving

Tips for making your move in Arizona easier

If you're moving to a new home in Arizona, use this to-do list to alleviate some stress and ensure a smoother transition to your new home.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

Mother punched in face while she held her baby sues Los Angeles sheriff’s department