More footage released of former judge’s arrest in Georgia nightclub

ATLANTA, Georgia (Atlanta News First) – Atlanta police have released hours of new footage from the night a former Douglas County judge was arrested at a Buckhead nightclub.

Marvin Arrington Jr., Christina Peterson’s attorney, said he would carefully review the videos and hoped the footage would confirm several things about that night, including that it was a misunderstanding.

The new footage shows at least five hours of a visibly emotional Peterson in the back of the police unit.

Police initially said Peterson shoved an officer during a “fracas” at the Buckhead nightclub. Arrington said she was helping another woman who was the victim of an altercation.

According to Arrington, Peterson had no idea that the person approaching her from behind was a police officer. He further said they wanted the charges against Peterson dropped.

“I believe in the heat of the moment, when she was trying to protect the young woman, she had no idea that this man was a police officer,” Arrington said. “In fact, in one of the videos you can hear people yelling, ‘That’s a police officer, that’s a police officer.’ That suggests to me that she and others were unaware at that time that the man was in fact a police officer.”

Arrington told Atlanta News First they are preparing a motion to quash the arrest warrant and file a motion for immunity.

Peterson served as a judge in Douglas County but was fired for unrelated violations of the Judges’ Code of Conduct.

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