Woman at center of controversial arrest by CMPD gets chance to view bodycam video

CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The attorney and a woman at the center of a controversial arrest by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are getting a chance to view body-worn camera video of the incident on Friday. A judge granted permission Friday morning.

CMPD has now confirmed that an officer struck 24-year-old Christina Pierre in the face, but there are still a lot of questions about exactly what led to that interaction.

Police said Pierre hit an officer in the face twice and the CMPD officer hit her back.

CMPD says under state law, anyone is allowed to use reasonable force to defend themselves. CMPD Policy allows officers to use reasonable force to take a resisting person into custody.

Queen City News’ cameras were rolling Friday as Christina Pierre, her attorney, and Anthony Lee walked into CMPD Headquarters Friday morning to look at the video for the first time since the controversial arrest Monday afternoon. Pierre had her head and face covered as she walked in.

Videos are surfacing on social media that show different angles and parts of the interaction at the bus stop near West Arrowood Road.

A video that shows an officer hitting Pierre in the thigh multiple times while trying to arrest her has gone viral. CMPD said the strikes to the thigh are an approved tactic used by police to get a suspect to comply. Right now, a team of police investigators for CMPD is compiling all the facts they can gather to understand what happened.

“We talked to people, we talked to witnesses, we talked to the officers, we look at that video not only their officer’s body-worn camera but any videos surrounding,” CMPD Lt Kevin Pietrus said. “We look at you know, photographs of injuries and it’s basically getting the entire picture, not a moment in time, but the entire picture of the entire incident.”

Pierre’s attorney is also compiling the facts trying to understand what happened. There’s a hearing for a judge to release the video on November 30. Then that judge would grant a release date for the video. Pierre’s attorney told QCN she would only talk to reporters if the video she sees shows anything different from what they expect.