Shocking video shows a North Carolina cop repeatedly punching a black woman who was being arrested for smoking marijuana, sparking an internal investigation as Charlotte’s police chief said he “understand[s] the outrage.”
The now-viral footage shows several officers pinning Christina Pierre to the ground near a bus stop Monday afternoon — with one throwing several left-handers.
“What the f–k! Get off her!” one onlooker screams, as others note the cops was hitting “a goddamn woman.”
“Why he beating a lady like that?” someone else in the angry crowd asks with horror, as someone shouts, “You gonna kill her right on the ground.”
As outrage grew, police on Tuesday said that Pierre had “refused arrest” and “punched an officer in the face” before the start of the troubling clip.
The man with her, Anthony Lee, “had a firearm” — a 9mm handgun — and both “refused arrest, and a struggle with officers ensued,” the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said.
“One officer threw multiple strikes to the female subject’s right thigh and ‘Stop resisting’ was stated several times,’ police stated.
“After several repeated verbal commands, an officer struck the female subject seven times with knee strikes and 20 closed fist strikes” to try to “gain compliance,” the statement said.
“The officer was intentional about where the strikes were made,” the department claimed,…