Washtenaw Sheriff's Deputy Caught on Video Punching Black Woman in the Face

The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office has opened an internal police investigation after a video circulated on Facebook showing a white deputy repeatedly punching a black woman during an arrest.

Deputies arrived in the Apple Ridge neighborhood in Ypsilanti Township around midnight May 26, after reports of around 30 people arguing led to gunshots, according to the sheriff's office. Deputies located a 34-year-old woman with a gunshot wound in the back and identified a suspect in the neighborhood.

When they attempted to make a perimeter around the home where the shooting was believed to have taken place, deputies ordered two people, a married couple, to leave the scene, but the two refused to leave, according to MLive.

The two resisted when deputies tried to physically remove them from the scene. Video of the incident shows one deputy, a white male, punching the woman repeatedly in the head while the other used a taser on the husband before taking both into custody, reports MLive.

"The Sheriff's Office is aware of and is investigating the use of force applied in an arrest that took place in the Appleridge community early this morning," Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry L. Clayton said in a news release. "As with any situation where a deputy uses force, a full and thorough review will be completed. We are committed to sharing all the relevant factual information with the public as it becomes available. Below please find the specific steps you may expect from the Sheriff's Office in this matter along with an overview of the initial call for service."

The list included:

o An internal Subject Control/Use of Force review has begun. This is normal procedure.

o Some staff involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave pending the investigative results. This is a normal procedure as well.

o Following a preliminary gathering of facts, an external agency will be asked to conduct the internal investigation.

o All relevant body-worn camera and dash camera video and audio has been collected.

o We have begun the process of conducting initial interviews for both the original shooting incident and the force used in the arrest of two individuals.

o We will provide on-going updates to the community as the matter proceeds.

Some involved deputies have been placed on administrative leave as a result of the incident pending an investigation, according to the sheriff's office. An external agency will conduct the internal investigation and body cam and dashcam footage has been collected as part of the investigation, according to the sheriff's office.