They weren’t burdened by conscience, or hindered by the need to make moral distinctions. Their role was to extract tribute for the king in Nineveh, destroy all potential resistance to his rule, and maintain order. To that end they dispensed aggressive violence without pretense or pity, and didn’t flinch from targeting women – including expectant mothers.

At some point within the last decade or so, American police adopted a modified version of the Assyrian model of law enforcement. This helps to explain why it is now considered permissible for a police officer to assault an uncooperative but non-violent pregnant woman.

Rochester, New York Police Officer Lucas Krull was recently captured on videoassaulting a 21-year-old expectant mother named Brenda Hardaway, who had allegedly interfered with the arrest of her 16-year-old brother, Romengeno.