Shocking video shows Charlotte, NC, cops PUNCHING woman on the ground - as police defend officers and say she punched one in the face and man she was with was armed with a gun

A shocking video shows the moment North Carolina cops repeatedly punched a woman while restraining her on the ground - but officials have defended the cops and said their use of force was necessary. 

Onlookers shouted 'what the f***' as a group of three or four officers surrounded Bojangles employee Christina Pierre in southwest Charlotte around 2pm Monday. Video shows one of the officers pummeling her as she lay on the ground. 

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officials said the altercation began when cops approached Pierre and her colleague, Anthony Nathaniel Lee, as they smoked marijuana at South Tryon Street and Arrowood Road near the Bojangles restaurant where they both worked. 

Pierre hit one cop in the face as they moved to arrest her, while Lee was armed with a 9mm handgun, according to the department. 

CMPD said Pierre began 'laying on her hands and not allowing officers to arrest her' - so one cop began striking her thigh and shouted at her repeatedly to 'stop resisting.'

The officer struck Pierre using a trained technique in an attempt to gain her cooperation, police said - though the incident is under internal investigation. 

Authorities say Pierre was kneed and then punched ten times by the officer to get her to stop resisting arrest.   

'These are tense situations that have the potential to escalate quickly,' CMPD said in a statement. 

'Police use of force is never easy to watch. Officers are trained to strike large muscle groups in order to gain compliance during an arrest.' 

Photographs show Pierre suffered heavy bruising to the left side of her face during the incident.

Pierre has been charged with assault on a government official, resisting arrest, and possession of marijuana. 

Meanwhile, Lee was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, resisting arrest, and possession of marijuana.  

CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said unreleased body camera footage of the shocking incident gives more context to what happened than the video shared on social media. The force said it is working with the judiciary to allow its publication. 

The body camera footage has not been released, though there are growing calls for the footage to be revealed, according to WSOC. 

Pierre's attorney agreed and told the outlet that the body camera footage will provide more context. 

 'I’m sure that it does, considering that the cellphone footage we’ve all seen on social media only shows what happened after she was being held down by multiple officers,' attorney Lauren Newton said.

Residents in the area have said the social media video was upsetting to watch.

'It doesn't really matter, unless someone takes a gun out and points at you, you shouldn't be beating on anyone,' local man Abdul Evans told WSOC-TV. 

'It took 17 blows to get her to complain. That's insane to me,' activist Kass Ottley told the broadcaster. 

'The use of force does not fit the situation and they are supposed to deescalate the situation,' she added.

'Like many other Charlotteans, we were shocked and saddened by the video of an incident between Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police and a Bojangles employee,' the fast food chain said. 

'While we wait to learn more of the details of what led to the incident, we plan to cooperate fully with any investigation.

'We can confirm that the individual in the video and her partner had recently clocked out from their shifts at Bojangles and left the property. 

'They both remain employed by Bojangles at this time.'