The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer seen on video repeatedly punching a woman will be suspended for 40 hours, the police chief said Tuesday afternoon. The announcement came in a press conference hours after the department released body camera video of the arrest and other footage.
The other six officers investigated for their role in the arrest were exonerated by CMPD's Internal Affairs Board, Police Chief Johnny Jennings said.
The body camera video shows a woman arguing with police, and she appears to swing at him several times before he punches her, and she falls to the ground. The video shows the woman screaming and resisting the officer's attempts to subdue her.
Video from a bystander, caught minutes later, showed CMPD officer Vincent Pistone punching Christina Pierre multiple times as other officers held her down. Jennings said the video circulating on social media did not tell the whole story of the Nov. 13 arrest.
"I watched the body worn camera footage and believe that it tells more of the story than what is circulating on social media," Jennings said last month. "The public deserves to view this footage as well."
A judge issued an order for CMPD to release the body camera video, giving the department a Tuesday deadline. In North Carolina, a judge must sign off on any release of police body camera footage. CMPD released 32 videos, including 10 hours of footage from body cameras, video from a bystander and surveillance cameras.
According to the department, a police officer spotted Pierre and Anthony Lee at a South Tryon Street bus stop smoking marijuana.
Police said Pierre resisted arrest. The video shows Pierre and Lee telling police that they were smoking a legal hemp product that they had bought at a nearby store, but then one of the officers takes Lee's arm to arrest him. The video shows Pierre yelling at the officers and asking what they are doing.
CMPD said the substance Lee and Pierre were smoking tested positive for marijuana, which is illegal in North Carolina.
Minutes later, more police show up and surround both Lee and Pierre, the video shows.
A group of officers surround Pierre on the ground, video from police and a bystander show. In the video shared on Instagram, an officer is seen kneeing and punching the woman as the other officers hold her down.
CMPD confirmed the officer kneed Pierre seven times and punched her 10 times. Police said the punches were to the thigh “to try to gain compliance. The video shows officers ordering her to put her hands behind her back, but she keeps them in front of her.
Jennings said the review of the use of force found that the first three times Pistone strikes the woman were justified, but then he hit and kneed her 14 more times.
“A female was laying on her hands and not allowing officers to arrest her,” CMPD said in an earlier statement. “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, initially defending the officer.
“These are tense situations that have the potential to escalate quickly. Police use of force is never easy to watch,” police said shortly after the first video of the arrest went viral. “Officers are trained to strike large muscle groups in order to gain compliance during an arrest.”
But on Tuesday, the police chief said he agreed with the review board's finding that the use of force by Pistone was not justified.
“Fourteen strikes to the female’s leg came after her hands were behind her back. These strikes were not deemed justified. If the officer made an assessment after three leg strikes, he would have seen that they were effective, and the female’s hands were behind her back," the chief said in a statement.
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.
CMPD said an investigation by internal affairs continues into the incident.