Douglas County Probate Judge Christina Peterson was arrested after she reportedly hit a police officer outside of a nightclub on Thursday. Atlanta police released footage from her body camera that shows the arrest.
The Atlanta police officer was working an extra job at the Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge when he heard a noise at 3:18 a.m. and went to see what was going on, according to the department.
The officer found security taking a woman out of the venue and tried to calm things down when a woman later identified as Peterson, 38, “rushed toward the commotion and immediately started screaming at the security guard and the officer,” that’s what the police said.
According to the officer’s body camera, the Democrat judge hit the officer in the chest and yelled, “Let her f—ing go.”
Authorities say Peterson “kept swiping his hands away as he attempted to assist the female being escorted out.” He is also said to have hit the officer in the chest a second time before being arrested.
The officer was trying to find out who Peterson was, but she reportedly refused to help him.
Bodycam film shows Peterson swearing at a police officer while he is being held. “Don’t f—-ng touch me” and “Shut the f— up” are heard from her. She is also seen handcuffed and sitting in the back of a police car.
As soon as the cops found out who she was, they got arrest warrants for simple battery against a police officer and obstruction of law enforcement officers.
After that, Peterson was taken to the Fulton County Jail to be processed. He was taken into custody without any problems.
A lawyer and Fulton County Commissioner named Marvin Arrington Jr. is representing Peterson. He and Peterson spoke at a press conference about the event on Friday.
At the time of the incident with the officer, Arrington said Peterson was helping to defend a woman who was being attacked by an unknown guy outside the lounge.
A woman named Alexandria Love talked about what happened at the press meeting and said that Peterson tried to help her.
The man who Love didn’t know struck her badly and punched her in the face. Judge Peterson was the only one who could help her.
Arrington asked the lounge to show its security footage, saying that Peterson should not have been arrested based on what people saw and the video.
After becoming a judge in 2020, Peterson has been in the news before.
In April, a group from the Judicial Qualifications Commission said Peterson was guilty of “systemic incompetence” and said she should be fired, according to FOX5 Atlanta.
The group that looked into Peterson’s alleged misconduct found that she had failed to do her job several times, broken courthouse rules, abused courthouse staff, and made inappropriate social media posts, according to the station.
Peterson’s job as a judge will depend on the Georgia Supreme Court, which will decide at an unknown date what to do with the panel’s suggestion.
