Viral arrest put CMPD under scrutiny. This time, leadership met the moment | Opinion

A judge ruled Wednesday that all video, including bodycam footage, from the controversial arrest by Charlotte police outside a Steele Creek-area Bojangles earlier this month must be released in the coming weeks.

The footage could shed further light on the incident that resulted in the forceful arrest of a couple who was smoking marijuana at a bus stop. Video recorded by bystanders that went viral on social media had shown a CMPD officer repeatedly striking Christina Pierre while a number of other officers pinned her to the ground.

The strikes — 17 in total — were intended to be “compliance strikes” to get Pierre to stop resisting arrest, CMPD said in a statement after the arrest. The footage must be released by Dec. 12, once Charlotte City Council has an opportunity to view it in closed session, the judge ruled.

While the actions of the arresting officers raised significant concerns, we do appreciate how CMPD has handled the incident since. Chief Johnny Jennings was candid from the start, both acknowledging the troubling nature of the video and admitting that the incident could have been handled better. It was Jennings who first pushed for the bodycam footage to be released, rightfully insisting that the public had a right to view it.

After the incident, Jennings vowed to consider changes to existing department policy.

So far, he appears to be following through on that promise. This week, Jennings announced the formation of a new community group that will review policies related to CMPD’s response to resistance and police-citizen encounters, bringing together community groups like the NAACP, local faith leaders and the Citizens Review Board. The NAACP and other community leaders were critical of the arrest. CMPD officers also held a community forum this week in an effort to improve the department’s relationship with the public. Fostering that kind of open dialogue is a step in the right direction, and we hope to see such efforts continue on a regular basis.

Clearly, the incident should never have happened in the first place, and CMPD should take steps to ensure that something like it doesn’t happen again. This editorial board said after the arrest that troubling incidents like these can further damage the already frayed trust between CMPD and the communities it serves instead of repairing it.

But the response thus far is a good step for CMPD, which in the past has been more defensive when its use of force is called into question. A less forthcoming response by Jennings would have done even more harm to the department’s relationship with the public — as it did in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests, for example — so it’s encouraging to see that CMPD and Jennings get it right this time.

Meanwhile, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s office chose to drop all charges, including assault on a government official, resisting arrest and simple possession of marijuana, this week. Pierre’s dismissal paperwork said that “the State does not have a reasonable likelihood of success at any potential trial on this matter,” according to The Charlotte Observer.

Jennings said he was disappointed in the decision but didn’t fight it.

“Even if charges are dropped or prosecution isn’t likely, that does not change how we enforce the very laws we swore to uphold,” Jennings said in a statement.

But maybe it should. The Mecklenburg DA announced more than a year ago that his office would no longer prosecute non-violent simple possession charges. At the time of the DA’s announcement, a CMPD spokesperson told the Observer that arrests for possession of marijuana are “very uncommon.” If that’s true, Jennings and CMPD should explain why the officers chose to arrest the couple in the first place, and perhaps reconsider whether such an interaction is necessary in the future.

The way public officials handle controversy — especially when they may be at fault — says a lot about who they are. While it remains to be seen whether real change will be made in the wake of Pierre’s arrest, Jennings has so far approached the matter with needed candor and transparency, and we’re glad for it.