Suffolk cop’s conduct during woman’s arrest under review

The Suffolk County Police Department is investigating an incident captured on video in which an officer struck a woman in the head several times during her arrest Saturday outside a Brentwood home, officials said.

The woman, identified by family members as Daniela Hernandez, 21, of Brentwood, has filed a complaint with the department, according to Deputy Chief Kevin Fallon.

She was charged with felony second-degree assault, after biting a male officer on the hand, and second-degree harassment, a violation, after kicking a female paramedic in the stomach, police said.

The video shows Hernandez surrounded by police and paramedics, being placed on a stretcher during her arrest. While she was being restrained, she cried out that she had asthma.

Police said she bit the officer on the hand. That officer can then be seen yelling and punching Hernandez in the head.

Hernandez was intoxicated, according to police, who said officers had responded shortly before 6 p.m. to a reported “domestic dispute” at the Madison Avenue home. Further details weren’t immediately available.

Fallon said the incident is being reviewed by Internal Affairs. The unidentified officer was treated and released, and “his status will be determined once he comes back to duty,” he said.

Investigators will talk to all witnesses, including Hernandez, paramedics and police, Fallon said.