Current:Home > ContactOliver James Montgomery-Mother punched in face while she held her baby sues Los Angeles sheriff’s department -Capitatum
Oliver James Montgomery-Mother punched in face while she held her baby sues Los Angeles sheriff’s department
Oliver James Montgomery View
Date:2025-04-08 16:18:11
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,Oliver James Montgomery 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.”
Other news London jury acquits Kevin Spacey of sexual assault charges on his birthday A London jury has acquitted Kevin Spacey on sexual assault charges stemming from allegations by four men dating back 20 years. James Outman’s double in 10th completes Dodgers’ comeback for an 8-7 victory over Blue Jays James Outman’s double in the 10th inning scored Chris Taylor with the winning run and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied for an 8-7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Column: Golf’s majors delivered inspiring comebacks minus the drama For edge-of-the-seat drama in golf’s four majors, pick another year. The only drama was Wyndham Clark having to two-putt from 60 feet to win the U.S. Open. Varsho gets tiebreaking hit in the 11th inning as the Blue Jays beat the Dodgers 6-3 The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3 in 11 innings. Daulton Varsho hit a tiebreaking two-run double in Toronto’s three-run 11th.The sheriff’s department did not immediately return messages seeking comment Wednesday.
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 weren’t in car seats and were instead 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, 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.
veryGood! (25)
Related
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Jonathan Majors' ex Grace Jabbari testifies on actor's 'violent temper': 'I had to be perfect'
- Roger Goodell says football will become a global sport in a decade
- The first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 is out. Here's why the hype is huge
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- NBA In-Season Tournament an early success with room for greater potential with tweaks
- Jonathan Majors’ accuser said actor’s ‘violent temper’ left her fearful before alleged assault
- Hamas officials join Nelson Mandela’s family at ceremony marking 10th anniversary of his death
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Hollywood performers ratify new contract with studios
Ranking
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Judge again orders arrest of owner of former firearms training center in Vermont
- Sabrina Carpenter and Saltburn Actor Barry Keoghan Step Out for Dinner Together in Los Angeles
- A woman has died and 2 people have been wounded in a shooting in east London, police say
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- USWNT to close out disappointing year, turn new leaf: How to watch game today vs. China
- A bedbug hoax is targeting foreign visitors in Athens. Now the Greek police have been called in
- Kate Middleton Channels Princess Diana With This Special Tiara
Recommendation
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
Voting experts warn of ‘serious threats’ for 2024 from election equipment software breaches
Wasabi, beloved on sushi, linked to really substantial boost in memory, Japanese study finds
John Mayer opens up about his mission that extends beyond music: helping veterans with PTSD
Buckingham Palace staff under investigation for 'bar brawl'
Liz Cheney, focused on stopping Trump, hasn't ruled out 3rd-party presidential run
Jacky Oh's Partner DC Young Fly Shares Their Kids' Moving Message 6 Months After Her Death
Biden calls reports of Hamas raping Israeli hostages ‘appalling,’ says world can’t look away