Georgia judge arrested after allegedly pushing Atlanta police officer outside nightclub

A foul-mouthed Georgia probate judge allegedly pushed an Atlanta cop twice out of a nightclub, then refused to identify himself after his arrest, according to police and body camera footage.

Douglas County Judge Christina Peterson, 38, was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police car early Thursday morning on charges of battery on a police officer.

Cops said she interfered with a police officer who was trying to de-escalate a situation in which a security guard working at Red Martini Restaurant and Lounge tried to escort another woman outside, according to 11 Alive News.

“Let her go, let her go,” Peterson shouted at the guard and the officer, according to footage released by Atlanta police and obtained by local media.

Police said the footage then showed Peterson, a Democrat, push the officer, who was working approved overtime work, in the chest twice and hit his hands during the commotion around 3 a.m., leading to his arrest .

The officer took Peterson to the ground and handcuffed him as a crowd formed around them, according to the clip.

The video, presented by Fox 5 Atlanta, then shows Peterson refusing to identify himself as the officer pleads for his name.

“You don’t need ID,” she said angrily. “You picked up corpses without knowing who they were, but you picked them up. Take me where you need to take me.

“I try,” the cop responded as the two continued to argue.

At one point, the judge suggested the officer Google her, to which the officer responded, “What's your name so I can Google you.” »

Other parts of the footage showed Peterson at the police station complaining and cursing about the officer grabbing her arm as they walked, and later in another police vehicle when she was informed of the accusations against her.

Peterson, who was allegedly under the influence during the interaction, according to a police report obtained by Fox 5 Atlanta, faces simple battery on a police officer and charges of obstructing law enforcement.

But Peterson's legal team, in an emotional news conference after the arrest, claimed she was simply being a good Samaritan.

Her attorney, Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr., said his client was trying to defend the woman who police said was escorted, identified as Alexandria Love, out of the nightclub because she was “viciously” attacked by an unidentified man.

Arrington said he believed she would be “totally exonerated” in the case and requested that all footage of the incident be released.

Love said during the news conference broadcast by Fox 5 Atlanta that the unidentified man accused her of cutting him off in a food truck line, sparking the unrest.

“He violently attacked me, punched me in the face and Judge Peterson was the only one to help me,” she said.

She also claimed that Peterson did not know she was putting her hands on a police officer.

Peterson, who took office in 2020, was previously found guilty of “systemic incompetence” by a judicial committee in April, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.