VASS, N.C. — A North Carolina woman is speaking out after what she describes as a violent encounter with a Vass police officer — and she says the criminal charges now filed against her were brought to cover up what really happened.
Nikki Decole Cunningham-Quick says the February 13 traffic stop along U.S. 1 quickly turned physical after she began recording the officer with her cellphone.
According to Cunningham-Quick, Officer Holden Hall told her her registration tag was invalid. She says the conversation escalated after she pulled out her phone to record.
“I told him I have a broken foot and broken knee,” she wrote in a public statement. “He grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me out.”
Cunningham-Quick alleges the officer kicked her injured leg twice, slammed her head against her car, and that she lost consciousness and experienced what she described as a seizure — something she says she had never experienced before.
She says when she regained awareness, she was on the ground and the officer was kicking her in the back while attempting to place her in handcuffs.
An ambulance transported her to Moore County Hospital.
Court records filed the same day show Cunningham-Quick charged with a list of charges:
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Three counts of Resisting a Public Officer
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Failing to surrender her driver’s license
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Driving while license revoked (not impaired)
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No liability insurance
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Expired registration
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Providing fictitious information to an officer
The charging documents allege she refused orders to turn around and place her hands behind her back, pulled away while officers attempted to detain her, and later refused to be handcuffed in the emergency room. The documents also state she failed to provide identification, drove on a revoked license, lacked proof of insurance, and provided false identifying information.
Cunningham-Quick strongly disputes those allegations.
She says the charges were filed after the incident to justify the officer’s use of force and shift the narrative.
“This man beat me up,” she wrote. “He lied to put bogus charges on me to save himself.”
She also claims her cellphone was taken during the incident and has not been returned.
As of publication, the Vass Police Department has not issued a public statement regarding the allegations. It is unclear whether body camera footage exists or whether an internal investigation has been launched.
Cunningham-Quick is scheduled to appear in Moore County District Court on March 5.
