AZ Police Officer Caught on Video Punching Woman in Face, Placed on Leave

An Arizona police officer was caught on video punching a woman in the face during an arrest and has been placed on administrative leave while an investigation is conducted.

Flagstaff Police officer Jeff Bonar is seen in the video — which was uploaded to Facebook on Thursday by a bystander — arresting a woman he was apparently serving a warrant to.

"You cannot arrest me until I know I have a warrant," the woman says.

He asks her to "get on your knees" so he could handcuff her.

After a struggle and argument, Bonar punches the woman in the face, and her head recoils backward from the blow.

A portion of the video that shows the punch was uploaded to YouTube. The Arizona Republic has the full video, with audio, here.

In a statement, the Flagstaff Police Department said it became aware of the video Thursday night and that the woman in the video "appears somewhat uncooperative."

"Our agency is very concerned by what is depicted in this video," the statement said. "We are immediately initiating an internal investigation into this incident."

The statement identified the officer and said he has been placed on administrative leave during the internal investigation.

The statement did not say what the woman was being arrested for. But her boyfriend told the Arizona Republic it was likely connected to an eviction notice.

Wednesday was the last day for the couple to leave their house, Jimmy Sedillo told the newspaper, and Bonar along with other officials came to watch them leave. That's when Bonar noticed there was a warrant out for her arrest.

“She had a warrant a few weeks ago,” Sedillo told the Republic. “He still assumed she had a warrant.”

Sedillo and other family members were present when the woman was punched, he said.

“It was just shocking,” Paredes said. “I pulled out my camera immediately.”

The video that led to Bonar being placed on leave was filmed by his brother-in-law, Danny Paredes.

Image: Youtube screenshot