Body camera footage shows the moment Charlotte, N.C., forces a police fast-food worker to get on the ground before hitting, kneeing and groping her between her thighs — as authorities drop charges after outrage over the arrests
A newly released police bodycam video shows the moment North Carolina police knocked a Black woman to the ground before kneeing, punching and groping her in an arrest that sparked public outrage.
The incident, captured by a bystander and by police bodycam video, occurred on November 13 around 2 p.m.
A group of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers surrounded Bojangles employee Christina Pierre and Anthony Nathaniel Lee as they sat on a park bench and smoked marijuana.
During the incident, the officers grabbed Pierre and Lee and pushed them to the ground. Both bystander video and bodycam footage released Tuesday showed police kneeing and beating Pierre while several officers restrained her.
The images prompted rebukes from community leaders who denounced the use of violence.
An investigation cleared six of the seven officers involved. But police have dropped all charges against both suspects.
A newly released police bodycam video revealed the violent encounter between Christina Pierre and seven Charlotte Police Department officers
Earlier bystander video showed a broader perspective of the encounter as the group of officers detained Pierre. Bodycam video was released Tuesday
Officer Vincent Pistone was identified as the officer who repeatedly struck Pierre during the arrest. He was suspended for 40 hours after an internal affairs investigation found he used excessive force.
The bodycam video begins with an officer approaching Pierre and Lee, sitting on a park bench near the highway.
The officer says, ‘What’s up, guys? Are you hanging out?’
“I just got off work,” Lee says.
Pierre then says: ‘What did we do wrong?’ when another officer approached them from behind.
“It smells like you’re smoking weed,” the first officer says.
‘It’s the stuff from the store, they sell it in the store. The THCA,” Lee says.
The second officer then steps in front of them and says, ‘Are you smoking weed? Do you smoke weed?’
With the joint in her hand, Lee says, “We got that from the smoke shops.”
Just then, one officer grabs Lee by the wrist and Pierre steps in and says, “Woah, what are you doing?”
The first responding officer then grabbed Pierre by her shirt and pulled her off the couch.
As she tries to go back to the bank to grab her belongings, the officer holding her pulls her arm and says, “Ma’am, you are under arrest” as she tries to fight him off.
The video then cuts to the woman pinned to the ground as several officers restrain her.
With one officer’s right leg on the back of her leg, the others grab her and one says, “Put your hands behind your back” as he repeatedly kicks the back of her leg with his knee.
Pierre was arrested and charged with assault on a government official, resisting officers and possession of marijuana. All her charges, along with Lee’s, were dropped
Pierre was pulled off the couch after an officer grabbed her colleague’s wrist to arrest him. She was then thrown to the ground where the rest of the violent encounter took place
That same officer, Pistone, who was not involved in the initial encounter, then takes his fists and begins punching her in the leg as the other officers continue to restrain her on the grass.
“Stop resisting,” says the officer who hits her, as Pierre screams.
The video cuts to the woman being taken to the police car as she screams, “What’s going on? What have I done? What have I done?’
With a slightly bloody face, the group of officers then try to place her in the vehicle, while someone comes in from the other side and grabs her arm to get in.
Pierre punched an officer in the face when they tried to arrest her, while Lee was armed with a 9mm handgun, according to the department.
Police said Pierre “began to put his hands on her and would not allow officers to arrest her” — so an officer began punching her thigh and repeatedly yelling at her to “stop resisting.”
Authorities allege that Pierre was beaten with a trained technique in an attempt to gain her cooperation.
The arrest first came to light after a viral video from a bystander showed the scene and officers on top of Pierre. This led to outrage within the community over the use of force.
“These are tense situations that have the potential to quickly escalate,” CMPD said in a statement at the time.
“The use of force by police is never easy to watch. Officers are trained to attack large muscle groups to gain compliance during an arrest.”
Pierre was arrested and charged with assault on a government official, resisting officers and possession of marijuana. All her charges, along with Lee’s, were later dropped.
Pierre is seen screaming as the group of officers transport her to the vehicle. In the video, Pierre said: ‘What’s going on? What have I done? What have I done?’
Residents in the area said the bystander’s social media video was shocking to watch.
“It doesn’t really matter, unless someone pulls out a gun and points it at you, you shouldn’t hit anyone,” said local man Abdul Evans. WSOC TV after the bystander video.
‘It took seventeen punches to make her complain. I think that’s insane,” activist Kass Ottley told the broadcaster.
“The use of force is not appropriate to the situation and the aim is to de-escalate the situation,” she added.
“Like many other Charlotte residents, we were shocked and saddened by the video of an incident between Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police and a Bojangles employee,” the fast-food chain said.
“While we await more details about what led to the incident, we intend to cooperate fully with any investigation.
“We can confirm that the person in the video and her partner had recently left their shifts at Bojangles and left the premises.
“They both remain employed by Bojangles at this time.”