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Officer Who Pushed Pregnant Mom to get 'Slap on Wrist,' Critics Say

By Ben Fractenberg | August 3, 2015 6:15pm
 Sandra Amezquita with her family and attorney during a press conference.
Sandra Amezquita with her family and attorney during a press conference.
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DNAinfo/Nikhita Venugopal

BROOKLYN — An NYPD officer accused of throwing a pregnant woman to the ground in Sunset Park will be given a “slap on the wrist,” according to community leaders.   

The Civilian Complaint Revue Board found the police officer acted improperly when he pushed Sandra Amezquita, who was six months pregnant, to the pavement and then hit her with a baton, and recommended he be docked up to five vacation days, according to a federal lawsuit and CCRB letter sent to the family and dated July 21. 

“It’s what we’ve come to expect from the CCRB,” said family spokesman Dennis Flores, who works with the community group El Grito de Sunset Park. “This is an agency that doesn’t have any teeth to hold the police accountable."

The CCRB recommended the officer, whose name was not released, be given "Command Discipline A," which means he could be docked up to five vacation days, according to the CCRB’s website.

The police commissioner decides any disciplinary measures taken against the officers.

Amezquita tried to intervene while her 17-year-old son was being arrested for possession of a gravity knife on Fifth Avenue near 41st Street Street on Sept. 20, 2014.

The officer then threw her to the ground, slamming her abdomen into the pavement and then slammed the baton into her body, the lawsuit said.

The woman’s friend, Mercedes Hidalgo, was then seen on video running over to the officer to tell them Amezquita was pregnant.

A second officer was then seen shoving Hidalgo, causing her to stumble onto the street.

That officer was placed on modified duty.

Amezquita's husband, Lemos Florian, was also assaulted by police during the arrest, according to the suit.

Amezquita’s son, Kevin, was born in December more than a month prematurely and the mother is concerned his physical and cognitive development may be affected, the lawsuit said.

The baby will continue to undergo tests to see if he develops any conditions, Flores said.

"The integrity and quality of the Police Department's service to the public depends, in large part, upon receiving information regarding the performance of police officers as they carry out their duties," the CCRB letter read. 

The agency declined to comment further on the investigation.