NYPD probes officer's push of pregnant woman

NEW YORK - 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. CBS New York reports video of the incident shows the woman being thrown to the ground and then straddled by an officer while her abdomen is pressed against the pavement.

The woman, Sandra Amezquita, is 5 months pregnant, her attorney Sanford Rubenstein said.

Amezquita "was walking over to ask police to stop using excessive force" on her son when the alleged incident occurred, he said.

"It's appalling," he said of the 2:15 a.m. altercation. "It's clear to me when an incident like this occurs you understand why police community relations are at an all-time low."

Internal affairs investigators and looking into the matter, the department said.

Rubenstein said another woman who walked over to see what was happening also was thrown to the ground by police, as was Amezquita's husband.

The teen was charged with weapon possession, resisting arrest and harassment. His mother received a summons for disorderly conduct.

Two other men were charged with assault, resisting arrest and other charges.

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.

In July, Eric Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, died during an arrest in Staten Island after being put in an apparent chokehold by a New York City police officer. A medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide and a grand jury is being impaneled to determine whether charges are warranted.