CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Mecklenburg County judge has approved the public release of police body camera video from a controversial arrest in November where a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer is seen repeatedly punching a woman.
“The court is going to find that there is a compelling public interest based on the information received during this hearing,” said Judge Daniel Kuehnert.
Even after the charges against Christina Pierre were dropped this week, there are many, including CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings and Pierre's attorney Lauren Newton, who believe the footage should be released to clear up what happened that day.
"This arrest should have never been attempted in the first place," Newton said explaining her client feels "vindicated" after seeing the video in a private viewing session.
A total of 28 videos from CMPD dash cam to body-worn camera and traffic cam footage from the incident will be released.
Personal identifiers like phone numbers and addresses will be redacted. Sensitive parts in the videos where Pierre is exposed during police searches will be redacted as well.
Pierre’s attorney Lauren Newton requested that any footage recorded after Pierre was in custody be left out of the release.
“That footage shows my client's emotions after being wrongfully detained and wrongfully arrested and that is personal,” Newton said. “Someone suffering and their emotions after something happened to them has no bearing on why it happened.”
CMPD’s legal team argued against it adding it is important to show the conduct of everyone involved in entirety.
“We believe recordings during transport, and the setting in the interview room do lend themselves to the full context of the full story of what was going on that time, to show people states of mind and the full context of that incident,” CMPD Lead Counsel Jessica Battle said. “We would ask to show all of those… those show all of the officers' conduct as it relates to this incident so that everyone has the full understanding from start to finish.”
The judge sided with CMPD and decided all of the videos would be made public.
The Charlotte City Council will view the footage first during a closed session and the video is expected to be released to the public no later than Dec. 12.
Once released the public will be able to judge for themselves.
"What I think this will show is that this was profiling," Newton said. “As we now know these people were in possession of a legal substance and this quote on quote “self-initiated investigation”… this was an unlawful arrest.”
NAACP, Charlotte Chapter President Corine Mack was at the virtual hearing. She said the arrest was triggering for her and she immediately thought of George Floyd.
“There are too many cases where we have police who are more aggressive with black people than they are with most, more aggressive with people of color than they are with most,” Mack said. “I will keep saying this... Implicit bias is as harmful as direct racism.”
Mack said she hopes this incident leads to deeper conversations about policing.
“We have to be honest about policing in this country, policing in this county and what it looks like and who it harms," Mack said. “We have to be honest about it and be really be intentional about making a change about it.”
At the time, Pierre was charged with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest and simple possession.
The Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office dropped all charges against Pierre from the confrontation, which happened on Nov. 13. A judge will decide Thursday if that footage will be released publicly, which many believe would help answer a lot of questions. Currently, the only videos that have been seen publicly were shot by witnesses. They show an officer punching Pierre repeatedly while several other officers are restraining her.
"Everyone seems to be in agreement so far that the footage should be released," Newton said. "Now, the judge does have broad discretion in how it’s released. So we do expect some redactions, of course, to protect witnesses."
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #9 shared a statement on Facebook following the decision, saying the organization is pleased with the development.
"Earlier today, a judge granted the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's request to release ALL body camera footage from a recent "viral video" arrest," the post reads. "This is a step in the right direction and we are confident once the video is released, you will see the officers involved are the true victims. The video footage will be available on December 12th."
Community activist Will Adams has been working with Pierre and sees this as an opportunity for policy change and a way to improve police and community interactions in the future.
"How should we react during this situation, how should we act under that situation?" Adams said. "How should you guys act under this situation, what is your policy what are your procedures?"
The hearing is scheduled for November 30, 11 a.m. at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.
Contact Destiny Richards at drichards5@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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