By SARAH BRUMFIELD, ERIK VERDUZCO and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press
Share this story

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A video circulating on social media shows a North Carolina police officer repeatedly striking a Black woman during an arrest while several other officers hold her down, and although the department contends that the officer was “intentional” about where he hit the woman to get her to comply, the police chief acknowledged Wednesday that he understands “the outrage.”

At a news conference Wednesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Johnny Jennings said that when officers approached a man and woman who were smoking marijuana at a bus stop Monday and began arresting the man, the woman interfered, an officer tried to stop him and a struggle ensued.

ADVERTISING

The woman hit an officer multiple times, according to Lt. Kevin Pietrus. During the struggle, an officer who responded as backup struck the woman several times to get her to allow police to take her into custody, which is consistent with his training, Pietrus told reporters.

“After several repeated verbal commands, an officer struck the female subject seven times with knee strikes and 10 closed fist strikes to the peroneal nerve in the thigh to try to gain compliance,” police said in a statement Tuesday. “The officer was intentional about where the strikes were made.”

One bystander video posted online shows four officers kneeling and holding the woman down as a fifth repeatedly strikes her with a closed fist. As it is happening, bystanders shout at the officers to stop. After a few seconds, the officers stand up and lead the woman to a squad SUV with her arms behind her back.

“I get it. I understand the outrage. I understand the emotions that come when you look at a video that involves an officer who is punching a female” police are trying to subdue, Jennings said at the news conference.

Jennings said he has been involved in similar physical struggles during his 32 years of policing.

“I can tell you that I’ve never been involved in using force that has looked pretty and has looked good to the public,” he said. “So these are difficult situations. And all I ask is we continue to let this investigation internally play out.”

The department’s internal affairs bureau is investigating, said Jennings, who speculated that other agencies might eventually conduct their own probes.

The officer, identified as Vincent Pistone, has been reassigned temporarily from the patrol division to investigations, Jennings said. A department spokesperson said the department does not release information about officers’ races.

Police contend that the woman, identified in court documents as a 24-year-old Black woman from Charlotte, assaulted an officer.