NYPD Officer Punches Woman in the Face During Arrest

NYPD is getting dragged on social media due to a viral video of a cop slugging a woman square in the face, leaving her down for the count.

The brutal incident reportedly went down Aug. 12 in Harlem, but the video's just now circulating online -- and it shows a group of officers in the middle of a crowd. NYPD says they were attempting to arrest a man in connection with an attempted murder.

The scene is total chaos, and you see one officer push the woman away from the crowd, and she seems to shove him back.

That's when the cop simply hauls back and throws one crushing punch to her face. She immediately falls backward on the pavement.

Citizens on the scene were absolutely shocked, and at least one man is heard yelling at the cop, "Why would you do that?!"

It's unclear if she fell unconscious, but moments later the cops had her up on her feet and put her in handcuffs.

NYPD seems to be describing the incident as self-defense -- it says, “While police were effecting the arrest, multiple individuals on scene interfered by physically assaulting numerous officers. One officer sustained a minor injury to the head.”

Two women reportedly ended up charged with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, and obstructing governmental administration -- one of them was additionally charged with menacing and harassment, and a third woman was accused of spitting at an officer.