A few days ago, The Root reported on Christina J. Peterson, an Atlanta-area judge who was arrested and charged for allegedly assaulting an officer while at a nightclub.
Body cam footage of the incident was released to the public over the weekend. In the video, Peterson can be seen repeatedly pushing an officer, which eventually led to her detainment. Multiple witnesses were present during the incident, several of whom attempted to intervene.
“Play with your momma, play with somebody else,” she tells the officer. She’s also heard saying the officer could Google her and find out who she is.
According to the original police report obtained by Fox 5, the officer “allegedly was hit in the head by Peterson.’’ The report claimed the judge appeared to be under the influence and refused to identify herself to officials.
Peterson was released from jail shortly after her arrest, and then took to social media to express her innocence. She called her arrest a “setup” and said she was simply “trying to help a woman who was being attacked by men” on Instagram.
Over the weekend, Peterson held a press conference with her lawyer and demanded she be exonerated of all charges. Two witnesses, including Alexandria Love — the woman Peterson allegedly tried to help — also spoke on behalf of the judge.
Love said the justice system “failed horribly.” She became emotional while retelling the alleged story of how a stranger “viciously attacked” her and repeatedly punched her in the face that night. “She was the only one that helped me,” Love said while pointing to Peterson.
“The idea that a good Samaritan, who was helping a woman that was being viciously attacked, could be arrested and the man, who was viciously attacking the woman, did not get arrested speaks to other issues that will be addressed at a later time,” Marvin Arrington Jr., the lawyer representing Peterson, said.
According to Arrington, Peterson and Love are both victims and should have been treated a such. He called out the Atlanta Police Department (APD) saying there are “inconsistencies in the officer’s statements.”
In addition to demanding the arrest of the alleged attacker, Arrington also called for Fani Willis, the Atlanta District Attorney currently prosecuting Donald Trump to “personally review” Peterson’s case.