New footage released by the Atlanta Police Department offers fresh perspectives on the arrest of former Douglas County Judge Christina Peterson at a Buckhead nightclub. The incident, which occurred last month, has now been documented through multiple dashcams and body cameras. The videos, released on the Fourth of July, cover several hours including Peterson's responses while detained in a police vehicle.
According to a report by FOX 5 Atlanta, the arrest was made after Peterson allegedly pushed an officer while trying to intervene during a disturbance outside the Red Martina Restaurant and Lounge on Peachtree Road. The former judge was visibly emotional, fluctuating between states of anger, distress, and prayer. In one of the videos, she insists, "It's harassment. It's poli-tricks," and expresses concerns for her safety, claiming that she was not suicidal and suggesting foul play in the event of her death.
Despite Peterson's statements, Atlanta police maintain that she refused to provide her identifying information when requested. The new video corroborates this position, showing Peterson repeatedly declining to give her name to several officers. Nevertheless, footage also indicates that her friends at the nightclub informed the arresting officer of her status as a judge and provided her name prior to her departure with the police.
Following her arrest, Peterson and her counsel, along with witnesses, have proclaimed her innocence. In a press conference covered by FOX 5 Atlanta, they argued that Peterson was merely trying to help another woman, Alexandria Love, who claimed to have been physically assaulted. One piece of the body camera footage appears to support the assertion that Peterson was intervening on behalf of the victim. Peterson's attorney, Marvin Arrington Jr., has called for the nightclub to release surveillance footage which they believe will exonerate the former judge.
Marvin Arrington Jr., in a statement obtained by Atlanta News First, said that Peterson was unaware the man she pushed was an officer, citing the new footage and shouts from bystanders as indications that she and others did not know that the man was in fact a cop at the time." Peterson is now facing charges for felony obstruction and simple battery of a police officer, and her attorney is reportedly preparing motions to dismiss the warrant and seek immunity.
Peterson's arrest came during her last year as a Douglas County judge, having lost her re-election bid. The Georgia Supreme Court decreed her removal from the bench due to unrelated violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct, enumerating charges of "systemic incompetence" and misconduct, as FOX 5 Atlanta reported. These rulings followed several FOX 5 I-Team investigations into Peterson's conduct since taking office in late 2020. Despite the release of video footage and conflicting accounts of the evening, the resolution of Peterson's charges remains pending.
