A video showing police officers forcibly removing a woman’s infant son from her arms during an arrest in New York City has caused outrage online.
The footage was posted on Facebook by a witness and shows the mother, identified as 23-year-old Jazmine Headley, lying on the floor surrounded by several New York Police Department (NYPD) officers following a row at a food benefits office in Brooklyn.
Headley can be heard shouting “you’re hurting my son” as the police struggle to wrench him away. At one point, an officer pulls out a yellow stun gun and points it at people in the angry crowd. Eventually, Headley is dragged to her feet and led away in handcuffs.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
According to The Guardian, she had initially sat on the floor because there were no seats available in the waiting room. A security guard then reportedly told her to stand, before calling the police when she refused.
The footage of the incident, on Friday, was posted by witness Monae Sinclair, who wrote: “She had her baby in her hands the whole time. I’m a mother myself & I would’ve lost my f***ing mind if this was me they would’ve had to kill me.”
New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson wrote on Twitter that it was “hard to watch this video”, and called the officers’ behaviour “unacceptable, appalling and heartbreaking”.
State Attorney General-elect Letitia James also issued a statement condemning the officers for their “appalling and contemptible” actions.
“No mother should have to experience the trauma and humiliation we all witnessed in this video,” she said. “Being poor is not a crime.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio promised that the NYPD and the city’s Human Resources Administration (HRA) would be investigating the “disturbing incident”.
Headley remains in custody on Rikers Island, charged with criminal trespassing, resisting arrest, acting in a manner injurious to a child, and obstruction of governmental administration. She refused medical treatment for both herself and her son, who is now in the care of a family member, CBS News reports.
At a news conference on Monday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams called for the charges against Headley to be dropped.
-
What to know before turning to AI for financial advicethe explainer It can help you crunch the numbers — but it might also pocket your data
-
Book reviews: 'The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction—and a Search for Relief' and 'Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run'Feature The search for a headache cure and revisiting Springsteen's 'Born to Run' album on its 50th anniversary
-
Keith McNally' 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
Tourist sparks bomb alert after accidentally ordering a 'grenade'Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
Green man will stay on longer for fat Britsfeature And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
George Floyd legacy: what has changed in the US three years onfeature Police officers are more accountable but has ‘white empathy’ hit a wall?
-
How your laughter shows when you’re in lovefeature And other stories from the stranger side of life
-
US elite crime-fighting units: a recipe for trouble?feature Tyre Nichols’ death in Memphis highlights the dangers of using of elite crime-fighting units
-
What happened to Tyre Nichols?Speed Read President Biden calls for ‘peaceful protest’ ahead of video release showing Memphis police officers fatally injuring 29-year-old
-
Three children dead after plunging into frozen Solihull lakeSpeed Read Search continues for unconfirmed number of other children, with rescue ‘now a recovery operation’
-
The Week Unwrapped: SIDS, Tasers and Alabaman rightspodcast Are we closer to understanding sudden infant death syndrome? Has a Trump-appointed judge given hope to trans Americans? And do too many British police have Tasers?
