A video showed police officers holding a woman down while one officer punched her repeatedly near a bus stop in Charlotte. But Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings said the viral video did not show the whole story.
On Thursday, a Mecklenburg County judge gave CMPD permission to release the body camera video from the Nov. 13 arrest. Body camera footage can only be released with a judge's order in North Carolina.
The judge set a Dec. 12 deadline for the police department to release the video.
"I watched the body worn camera footage and believe that is tells more of the story than what is circulating on social media," Jennings said earlier this month. "The public deserves to view this footage as well."
CMPD said police found Christina Pierre and Anthony Lee smoking marijuana at a bus stop on South Tryon Street.
Police said Pierre resisted arrest. The department confirmed an officer kneed the woman seven times and punched her 10 times in the thigh “to try to gain compliance" as other officers held her down.
“A female was laying on her hands and not allowing officers to arrest her,” CMPD said. “One officer threw multiple strikes to the female subject’s right thigh and ‘stop resisting’ was stated several times.”
“The officer was intentional about where the strikes were made,” police said.
“These are tense situations that have the potential to escalate quickly. Police use of force is never easy to watch,” CMPD said in the statement posted to social media. “Officers are trained to strike large muscle groups in order to gain compliance during an arrest.”
Police charged Pierre with assault on a government official, resisting arrest and possession of marijuana. Lee was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, resisting arrest and marijuana possession.
The district attorney has since dropped all charges against the two.