A recently released police bodycam video revealed the violent encounter between a Black woman and North Carolina police officers at a bus stop in Charlotte.
The incident occurred Monday around 2 p.m. when a group of officers surrounded Bojangles employee Christina Pierre and a man on a park bench.
Officials with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said the altercation began when police approached Pierre and her colleague, Anthony Nathaniel Lee, while they were smoking marijuana at South Tryon Street and Arrowood Road near the Bojangles restaurant where they both worked.
The encounter quickly took a turn after officers approached them and asked if they were smoking marijuana. They then proceeded to grab both of them and pinned Pierre to the ground during her arrest.
Pierre was charged with assault on a government official and the man was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, and both were charged with resisting officers and possession of marijuana. All charges were later dropped.
A newly released police bodycam video revealed the violent encounter between Christina Pierre and six arrested officers from Charlotte, North Carolina
Earlier bystander video showed a broader perspective of the encounter as the group of officers dealt with Pierre. Bodycam video was released Tuesday
The officer who repeatedly struck Pierre during last month's arrest was given a 40-hour suspension after an internal affairs investigation found he used excessive force.
The investigation subsequently concluded that the six other officers involved in the violent encounter used reasonable force against the woman.
The bodycam video begins with an officer approaching Pierre and a man sitting on a park bench near the highway.
The officer says, 'What's up, guys? Are you hanging out?'
“I just got off work,” Lee says.
Pierre then says: 'What did we do wrong?' when another officer approached them from behind.
“It smells like you're smoking weed,” the first officer says.
'It's the stuff from the store, they sell it in the store. The THCA,” Lee says.
The second officer then steps in front of them and says, 'Are you smoking weed? Do you smoke weed?'
With the joint in her hand, Lee says, “We got that from the smoke shops.”
At that moment, one officer grabs the man by the wrist and Pierre intervenes and says, “Woah, what are you doing?”
The first responding officer then grabbed the woman by her shirt and pulled her off the couch.
As she tries to go back to the bank to gather her belongings and check on the man, the officer holding her pulls her by the arm and says, “Ma'am, you are under arrest” as she tries to fight him off.
The video then cuts to the woman pinned to the ground as several officers restrain her.
With one officer's right leg on the back of her leg, the others grab her and one says, “Put your hands behind your back” as he repeatedly kicks the back of her leg with his knee.
Pierre was arrested and charged with assault on a government official, resisting officers and possession of marijuana. All her charges, along with Lee's, were dropped
Pierre was pulled off the couch after an officer roughly grabbed her colleague's wrist to arrest him. She was then thrown to the ground where the rest of the violent encounter took place
The same officer then takes his fists and starts hitting her in the leg while the other officers continue to restrain her on the grass.
“Stop resisting,” says the officer who hits her, as the women scream.
The video then cuts to the woman being taken to the police car as she screams, “What's going on? What have I done? What have I done?'
With a slightly bloody face, the group of officers then try to place her in the vehicle, while someone comes in from the other side and grabs her arm to get in.
Pierre punched an officer in the face when they tried to arrest her, while Lee was armed with a 9mm handgun, according to the department.
CMPD said Pierre “began to put his hands on her and not allow officers to arrest her” — so an officer began punching her thigh and repeatedly yelling at her to “stop resisting.”
The officer struck Pierre using a trained technique in an attempt to gain her cooperation, police said, although the incident is under internal investigation.
Authorities say Pierre was kneeled and then punched 10 times by the officer to get her to stop resisting arrest.
“These are tense situations that have the potential to escalate quickly,” CMPD said in a statement.
“The use of force by police is never easy to watch. Officers are trained to attack large muscle groups to gain compliance during an arrest.”
Photos show Pierre suffered severe bruising to the left side of her face during the incident.
Pierre is seen screaming as the group of officers transport her to the vehicle. In the video, Pierre said: 'What's going on? What have I done? What have I done?'
The officer struck Pierre using a trained technique in an attempt to gain her cooperation, police said, although the incident is under internal investigation
Residents in the area say the video on social media was shocking to watch.
“It doesn't really matter, unless someone pulls out a gun and points it at you, you shouldn't hit anyone,” said local man Abdul Evans. WSOC TV.
'It took seventeen punches to make her complain. I think that's insane,” activist Kass Ottley told the broadcaster.
“The use of force is not appropriate to the situation and the aim is to de-escalate the situation,” she added.
“Like many other Charlotte residents, we were shocked and saddened by the video of an incident between Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police and a Bojangles employee,” the fast-food chain said.
“While we await more details about what led to the incident, we intend to cooperate fully with any investigation.
“We can confirm that the person in the video and her partner had recently left their shifts at Bojangles and left the premises.
“They both remain employed by Bojangles at this time.”