Police investigate pepper spraying of mother near toddler

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A Rochester police officer has been placed on administrative duty after using pepper spray on a shoplifting suspect who tried to escape with her 3-year-old child in her arms. Video of the Feb. 22 incident has been made public at a time when the Rochester Police Department is under intense scrutiny over its interactions with Black residents. Body camera video shows the woman, who is Black, bolting from a white officer who had stopped her in the street and told her she was being accused of stealing. The officer chased the woman down the sidewalk, then struggled to subdue her while trying not to injure the screaming toddler.