Police officer video detailing Hope Solo’s arrest is now available to the public. Reporters from Queen City News, the FOX affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina, began a lengthy legal fight to acquire the body camera footage stemming from Solo’s arrest.
The Winston-Salem Police Department near Charlotte, NC arrested the former star goalkeeper for the United States Women’s National Team on the night of March 31, 2022. She was only allegedly sleeping in her car in a Walmart parking lot. She had her two children in the back seat.
Initially resisting the orders of the police officers, the officers removed Solo from his vehicle. Officers said they could smell a ‘sweet scent’, despite Solo claiming he had no alcohol.
When officers took Solo into custody, his blood alcohol content was .24, three times the legal limit. Additionally, Solo tested positive for THC-9, the active ingredient in marijuana.
Even though the police department and attorneys fought to keep the body camera video private, the public can now see Hope Solo’s arrest.
Queen City News published the clips of the arrest in a special segment, “Hope Lost”, shown below.
Video of Hope Solo’s arrest
In the segment above, Queen City News describes the challenge of getting body camera footage. The station sued the police department and met with officials to request the video on seven separate occasions before receiving the recordings. The reason is that the North Carolina police videos are not public record.
Defense attorneys for Hope Solo sat alongside police and Winston-Salem City Attorney Lori Sykes. Defenders of the video wanted to protect Solo’s right to a fair trial, the identity of her children and Hope Solo’s reputation.
For many, Hope Solo’s reputation is that of the USWNT’s elite goalkeeper. She helped the team to a World Cup title in 2015 as well as a runner-up finish in 2011. Additionally, she is a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Solo’s career ended unceremoniously in 2016 after he said the Sweden national team played like a “bunch of cowards”. Sweden defeated the USWNT in the Rio 2016 Olympic quarterfinals.
Earlier this year, Hope Solo launched a podcast on SiriusXM FC just weeks before her arrest.
PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
