ATLANTA — Former Douglas County Probate Judge Christina Peterson was arrested in June last year after an altercation at the Red Martini club in Atlanta. Most of the charges have now been dismissed.
During the interaction with police, Peterson was accused of hitting a police officer and obstructing law enforcement, receiving two obstruction charges and a charge for battery.
Channel 2 Action News reported on the arrest back in 2024, when police released hours of bodycam footage from the incident.
On Wednesday, a Fulton County judge signed off on dismissal of one obstruction charge and the battery charge, due to “want of prosecution” filings submitted by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.
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As previously reported, the incident started when Peterson reportedly tried to stop a man from attacking another woman at the Red Martini.
An off-duty officer got involved, leading to an altercation.
Bodycam footage released by the Atlanta Police Department show Peterson shoving an officer, but the former judge said at the time it was an accident.
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Witnesses to the incident told Channel 2 Action News that Peterson did not purposely hit an officer, and was only trying to help the woman who was being attacked. The man involved got away and has not been identified.
Peterson’s attorney, Marvin S. Arrington, Jr., who is also a sitting Fulton County Commissioner, previously pushed Atlanta police to identify and arrest the man accused of attacking the other woman at the bar.
During the process for the case, Arrington and Peterson have maintained her innocence. In June, following Peterson’s arrest, Arrington called for the charges to be dismissed.
Now, Fulton County DA Fani Willis has done that, with the exception of one obstruction charge that is still active.
Channel 2 Action News has reached out to Arrington for comment on the charge dismissals for his client and is waiting for a response.
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