Video Catches L.A. Cop Punching Unruly Female Bus Passenger in the Face

We've all been warned about talking back to police officers, but one Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy was caught on camera silencing an unruly bus passenger by a means some will find shocking -- especially considering reports now point to the the unruly passenger having special needs

Jermaine Green explained to NBC Southern California the violent exchange that took place on a Metro Bus Monday night:

'The lady got on the bus with a stroller full of pillows, she was very polite, said hello to everyone and sat down,'Green said.

At the next stop, two LA County sheriff's deputies, one male and one female, boarded the bus and called the passenger by name.

'They said get off the bus. She then started cursing at (the female deputy). You could tell she had special needs. After that they grab her, she curses him out, calls him a big shot, next thing you know he gives her a big shot,' Green said."

Green captured video of the shocking confrontation:

Green claims that the deputies noticed him filming, and tried to intimidate him when he refused to hand over his cell phone.

"He comes to me and says you can be under arrest if you don't give me that video," Green told NBC. A recently-returned veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Green refused to comply.

LA Weekly reports that Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore has responded to the now-viral video:

"We got a 911 call of a violent woman on a bus, [saying] she almost attacked an elderly man. Lakewood deputies responded. And we know this woman by the way -- she has 4 previous arrests and convictions for assault on a police officer. ... She's a large woman with some mental challenges, and she became aggressive toward our deputies."

Whitmore told LA Weekly that both Internal Affairs and the Office of Independent review are monitoring a use-of-force investigation "as we speak."