Newly released police bodycam video shows the moment North Carolina officers tackled a Black woman to the ground before kneeling, punching and groping her during an arrest, sparking widespread public outrage.
The incident occurred around 2 p.m. on Nov. 13 when a group of Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers surrounded Bojangles employees Christina Pierre and Anthony Nathaniel Lee as they sat on a park bench and smoked marijuana.
During the incident, police officers grabbed both of them and threw them to the ground. Both bystander video and bodycam footage released Tuesday showed police kneeling and punching Pierre while several officers restrained her.
The footage drew rebuke from community leaders who denounced the use of force.
An investigation cleared six of the seven officers involved. However, police dropped all charges against both suspects.
Newly released police bodycam video revealed the violent encounter between Christina Pierre and seven Charlotte Police Department officers
Earlier bystander videos showed a wider angle of the encounter as the group of police officers arrested Pierre. The 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 investigation found he used excessive force.
The bodycam video begins with a police officer walking toward Pierre and Lee, who are sitting on a park bench near the highway.
The officer says, 'What's going on, guys? Are you hanging out?'
“I just got off work,” Lee says.
Pierre then says, “What did we do wrong?” as another officer approached them from behind.
“It smells like you’re smoking weed,” the first officer says.
“It's the store stuff, they sell it in the store.” “The THCA,” Lee says.
Then the second police officer steps in front of her and says, 'Are you smoking weed?' Are you smoking weed?'
With the joint in hand, Lee says, “We got it from the tobacco shops.”
Then the one cop grabs Lee by the wrist and Pierre intervenes and says, “Woah, what are you doing?”
The first officer then grabbed Pierre by her shirt and dragged her off the bench.
As she tries to return to the bank to get her things, the officer pulls her arm and says, “Ma'am, you're under arrest,” as she tries to fight him off.
The video then shows the woman pinned to the ground while several police officers hold her down.
While one officer's right leg is on the back of her leg, the others grab her and one says, “Put your hands behind your back,” while repeatedly kneeing her in the back of her leg.
Pierre was arrested and charged with assault on a government official, resisting officers and possession of marijuana. All of her charges, as well as Lee's, were dropped
Pierre was pulled from the bench after a police officer grabbed her colleague by the wrist to arrest him. She was then thrown to the ground, where the rest of the violent altercation took place
The same officer, Pistone, who was not involved in the initial encounter, then grabs his fists and begins punching her in the leg as the other officers continue to pin her to the grass.
“Stop resisting,” the officer who hits her says as Pierre screams.
The video shows the woman being taken to the police car and screaming, “What's going on?” What have I done? What have I done?'
With her face slightly bloody, the group of officers then tries to get her into the vehicle when one gets in from the other side and grabs her arm to get in.
Pierre punched a police officer in the face as they tried to arrest her, while Lee was armed with a 9mm handgun, according to the department.
Police said Pierre began “putting his hands on her and not allowing officers to arrest her” – so an officer began punching her in the thigh and repeatedly shouted at her to “stop resisting.” “.
Authorities allege Pierre was beaten using a practiced technique to get her to cooperate.
The arrest first came to light after a passerby captured a viral video showing the crime scene and officers on Pierre. This led to popular outrage over the use of violence.
“These are tense situations that have the potential to escalate quickly,” CMPD said in a statement at the time.
“Police use of force is never easy to observe.” Officers are trained to target large muscle groups to achieve compliance during an arrest.”
Pierre was arrested and charged with assault on a government official, resisting officers and possession of marijuana. All of her charges, as well as Lee's, were later dropped.
Pierre can be seen screaming as the group of officers transport her to the vehicle. In the video, Pierre said: “What's going on?” What did I do? What have I done?'
Residents in the area said it was disturbing to watch the bystander's social media video.
“It doesn't really matter unless someone pulls out a gun and points at you, you shouldn't hit anyone,” local resident Abdul Evans told WSOC-TV after the bystander video.
“It took 17 hits for her to complain.” “That's crazy to me,” activist Kass Ottley told the station.
“The use of force does not fit the situation and they should de-escalate the situation,” she added.
“Like many other Charlotteans, we were shocked and saddened by video of an incident between Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police and a Bojangles employee,” the fast food chain said.
“While we wait to learn more details about what led to the incident, we plan to cooperate fully with any investigation.”
“We can confirm that the individual in the video and his partner recently finished their shifts at Bojangles and left the property.”
“Both remain employed at Bojangles at this time.”