Police in Atlanta have released footage from officers’ body-worn cameras showing the arrest of a local probate court judge at a nightclub last week, accusing her of striking a police officer and refusing to identify herself following her arrest.
Douglas County Probate Judge Christina J. Peterson was taken into custody Thursday evening and charged with one count of simple battery against a police officer and one count of felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer, the department announced.
According to a news release from the Atlanta Police Department, an officer at about 3:18 a.m. on June 20 was working an “approved extra job” at the Red Martini bar in the 3100 block of Peachtree Road NE when they “overheard a commotion nearby and went to investigate.” The officer said he noticed security escorting a female out of the venue.
“While assisting security and attempting to de-escalate the situation, an unidentified female, later identified as 38-year-old Christina Peterson rushed toward the commotion and immediately started screaming at the security guard and the officer,” the release states. “Ms. Peterson then forcibly pushed the officer in the chest and kept swiping his hands away as he attempted to assist the female being escorted out. Ms. Peterson pushed the officer in the chest again and that is when she was subsequently placed into custody. The arresting officer attempted several times to obtain the female suspect’s identifying information for processing purposes, however, she refused to cooperate.”
Police said Peterson’s refusal to identify herself led to a “delay” in her being transported to the Fulton County Jail for processing.
In the released footage, Peterson appears to be screaming at officers detaining another female, repeatedly yelling “Let her f—— go!” She also appears to try and break the other woman free of the officer’s grasp. It is not clear from the footage if she physically strikes the officer.
Following her arrest, Peterson appears to repeatedly refuse to provide police with any personal identifying information about herself.
“You gonna have to kill me, sir,” she can be heard saying from the back of the police car. “Just to protect yourself, you’re gonna have to kill me.”
She has since claimed that she was merely trying to help another woman who was being attacked by a man outside of the club. Her attorney, Marvin Arrington, told Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA that he believes police are attempting to cover up what really happened.
“The cover-up is always worse than the initial mistake,” Arrington told the station. “We already see inconsistencies in the officer’s statements.”
Arrington said that in the body camera footage, the arresting officer says he was “punched” multiple times, and later penned an affidavit stating he was struck with a “closed fist.” However, in the department’s statement, Arrington noted that the police only say the officer was pushed.
The woman who was allegedly attacked, Alexandria Love, told Atlanta Fox affiliate WAGA that the unidentified man attacked her after he accused her of cutting a food truck line.
“He viciously attacked me, punched me in my face and Judge Peterson was the only one to help me,” she told the station.
Another witness, Madison Shannon, also spoke on behalf of Peterson.
“I see this person flying by me and I didn’t know who she was,” Kelly said. “But I know she helped my friend, and if she hadn’t helped, I don’t know what we would be saying today.”
Peterson made headlines earlier this year when a three-member panel for the Judicial Qualifications Commission unanimously recommended she be removed from the bench for “systematic incompetence,” WAGA reported. Peterson faced 30 counts of misconduct, including one instance in which she ordered a woman jailed because she tried to amend her marriage certificate to include the name of her father, which she had only recently discovered.
“Such a hasty and shockingly disproportionate reaction is the hallmark of (Peterson’s) intemperance,” the panel reportedly wrote. “(Peterson’s) attempts to avoid responsibility for these clear violations bordered on farcical, severely eroding her credibility with the Hearing Panel.”
Peterson remains on the bench until the Georgia Supreme Court decides whether to approve her removal from office.
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