New video released of ex-Douglas County judge's arrest at Buckhead nightclub
ATLANTA - Atlanta police have released new footage showing the arrest of former Douglas County Judge Christina Peterson at a local nightclub.
The multiple hours of footage, which was released shortly after 1 a.m. on the Fourth of July, shows the incident from multiple dashcams and body cameras.
Peterson was arrested on June 20. According to an Atlanta Police report obtained by FOX 5, an officer working an extra job at the Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge on Peachtree Road in Buckhead spotted a disturbance outside the venue and attempted to escort the woman from the premises.
While assisting security in de-escalating the situation, the officer was approached by another woman, later identified as Peterson, who began screaming at the security guard and the officer. Police say she then forcibly pushed the officer in the chest. Despite the officer’s attempts to assist the woman being escorted out, Peterson continued to interfere, swiping at the officer’s hands.
MORE: Probate Judge Christina Peterson should be removed, Georgia Supreme Court rules
Police say after a second push to the chest, Peterson was placed under arrest. However, she repeatedly refused to provide her identifying information, causing delays in her processing. Subsequent investigation allowed officers to confirm her identity.
In the new footage, Peterson is visibly emotional while sitting in the back of the squad car, telling officers, "Book me in … unbuckle me and book me in."'
She later tells police that she "hasn't committed any crimes."
"It's harassment," Peterson says in the footage. "It's poli-tricks."
It also appears from the video that Peterson has confused the officer who arrested her with the man who allegedly attacked the woman she was reportedly defending.
She accuses him of hitting the other woman and then putting her in handcuffs because she didn't agree with his disrespect of women.
WARNING: Video below contains foul language.
"This woman has done nothing to him, Lord. He put his hands upon her and I could not sit and watch and see it, Lord. I observed him and he... In the name of Jesus, Lord, he has been touched by a devil in the demonic spirit, Lord, that he has put his hands upon me in retaliation, and Lord, in his... demonic spirit, Lord. I'm going to let him live in what he has lived in, Lord. And he's not going to succeed, but he's going to do what he's going to do in this moment. But Lord, you said vengeance is mine and I will repay, Lord. I would love that you would repay in this moment. I hope that you seek mercy on this man."
Peterson spent several hours in the back of the officer's patrol car and it's obvious that she was upset by what happened at the nightclub. She alternated between ranting, crying, praying and finally sleeping during the time she was being held.
At one point, it appears that she believes that the officer doesn't intend to take her to jail. She accuses him of false imprisonment and tells him that her people know who she left with and they know she hasn't killed herself.
"Listen. Hey, everybody. This is me. I want everybody to know I'm not suicidal. If anything happens to me, I did not kill myself. It was this officer who has me in the backseat of his car. False arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution. This man has beat a woman outside of Red Martini and then he beat me to the ground and put me in handcuffs. My people told him and they pled with him not to take me. They told him who I was to no avail. Please understand, good people. If anything happens to me, it was not me, please look for me, please try to find me, and please understand that I was never, ever, ever, ever, ever, I was never suicidal. I would never kill myself and never do any harm to myself. It would have to be somebody that did it. And it's this man Wadsworth, whatever his name is, City of Atlanta Police Department," Peterson said.
The new video collaborates Atlanta police's position that she refused to give her name. Peterson was asked multiple times by several different officers for her personal information, but she refused each one of them. However, the video also shows that her friends at the nightclub told the arresting officer repeatedly that she was a judge and gave him her name before he left with her in the patrol car.
She's facing charges of felony obstruction and simple battery of a police officer.
Ex-Douglas County judge refutes charges
Douglas County probate judge refutes felony charges
Supporters have rallied around a Douglas County Probate Court judge following her arrest on Thursday. Atlanta police charged Christina Peterson with felony obstruction and simple battery of a police officer following an incident at the Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge in Buckhead. Eyewitnesses insist Peterson is innocent.
A day after she was charged. Peterson, her lawyer, and witnesses held a press conference declaring her innocence.
The witnesses said Peterson tried to defend Alexandria Love from a vicious attack after an unidentified man accused her of cutting in front of him in a food truck line.
"He viciously attacked me," Love said, "punched me in my face and Judge Peterson was the only one to help me."
Witnesses Madison Shannon Kelly and Alexandria Love insist the judge did nothing wrong.
"I see this person flying by me and I didn't know who she was," Kelly told reporters. "But I know she helped my friend, and if she hadn't helped, I don't know what we would be saying today."
One new piece of body camera footage seemed to corroborate their story. In it, an unidentified man told police that Peterson "jumped in to help the girl out," before describing the former judge as "tipsy."
A hearing panel recommends Douglas County Probate Court Judge Christina Peterson be removed from office.
A witness recorded a video of Judge Peterson being detained by officers. Lawyer and Fulton County commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. demanded that Red Martini turn over related surveillance video.
"Based on eyewitnesses and the female victim, we believe the videos will confirm that Judge Peterson should not have been arrested," Arrington explained.
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Georgia Supreme Court removes Peterson from bench
On June 25, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Peterson should be removed from the bench. Additionally, she will not be eligible to be elected or appointed to any judicial office in Georgia for the next 7 years.
The first-time judge for Douglas County has been the subject of several FOX 5 I-Team investigations since she took office in late 2020.
The Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) decided in April that Peterson was guilty of "systemic incompetence" because she ignored courthouse rules, abused courthouse personnel, made inappropriate posts on social media and, in repeated cases, failed to do her job.
The decision came after four separate hearings that began in September 2023. She faced 30 counts of misconduct.
In their ruling, the justices agreed with the JQC's findings related to the matter.
Peterson was in her last year on the bench. She recently lost her bid for re-election.