Woman Dead After Bar Brawl, Witness Says Officers Didn't Do Enough

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by FOX Charlotte

Story Created: Dec 4, 2011 at 9:49 PM EDT

Story Updated: Dec 5, 2011 at 12:38 AM EDT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - On Thanksgiving, 30-year-old Antoinette Baker wrote on her Facebook page, "Cherish every day like it's your last, enjoy your family and always praise God!"  Now, less than two weeks later, Baker is dead after a bar fight at Hartigan's in Uptown Charlotte.

Another woman, 32-year-old Katie Nicole Robinson, is charged with first degree murder.

And a third woman, Jackie Duncan, has her own story to tell.  Duncan was at Hartigan's early Sunday morning. She watched - and recorded - as a ladies bathroom brawl spilled out into the street.  She saw Baker down on the ground, stabbed.  Duncan says, "There was a large pool of blood around her."

Duncan says Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers did nothing to help Baker and refused to let Duncan help Baker, too.  She says, "I'm a nurse, I can understand you have liability issues. You can't let anyone near her, OK, that's fine, but I asked them, 'are you CPR certified, first aid trained?' They said 'yes,' I'm like, why aren't ya'll doing anything? And they said, 'we don't have the right equipment ma'am.'"

Duncan says all they needed were their hands to apply pressure and help control Baker's bleeding until medic arrived.  The police department's Code of Ethics reads, in part, “As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve the community; to safeguard lives and property..."

Duncan says the officers also refused to provide their names, which could be in violation of the department's Rules of Conduct.  She wonders if Baker would be alive if the officer's used the training they told her they had.

"I don't know if she could have survived or not, but her chances would have been a hell of a lot better," says Duncan.

Baker and Robinson did not know each other before Sunday's fight.  Baker leaves behind six children.  Her family tells FOX Charlotte they are also upset with the police department.  CMPD spokesperson Rob Tufano says officers carry latex gloves and CPR masks but that per policy, officers consider their safety and secure the scene before rendering aid.  He also tells us that one officer did apply pressure to Baker's wound with a towel.

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