Ex-officer pleads guilty to beating pedestrian on video

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Jonathan Drew, Associated Press Updated 12:26 pm CDT, Friday, August 9, 2019

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A white former North Carolina police officer pleaded guilty Friday to beating a black pedestrian in a case that sparked outrage after graphic video of the violent 2017 encounter surfaced.

Christopher Hickman, the ex-Asheville officer, was sentenced to a year of supervised probation after admitting in court to assault by strangulation, assault inflicting serious injury and communicating threats.

Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams said in a news release that the plea deal was brokered after Hickman met with pedestrian Johnnie Rush through a mediated process called restorative justice.

Body camera footage of the August 2017 beating showed Hickman hitting Rush and putting him in a chokehold after officers accused Rush of jaywalking. Footage became public when the Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper published a leaked clip months after the beating, prompting angry questions from the community about transparency and use of force.



Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Ex-officer-pleads-guilty-to-beating-pedestrian-on-14293171.php

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Christopher Hickman

Video of Hickman beating Johnny Rush:

APD beating caught on camera sparks outrage

https://wlos.com/news/local/apd-beating-caught-on-camera-sparks-outrage

[SamKnause]

1. 1 year of supervised probation.

"With Liberty and Justice For All."

[FiveGoodMen]

5. Must be over 18

Offer not available in all states

Some restrictions may apply

[gibraltar72]

2. Reading the headline I thought

there was a law against beating people on video. Maybe that's just a general rule with police organizations.

[Mr.Bill]

3. As soon as I read the thread title,

I said to myself, let me guess. Plea deal, no jail time.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

4. When did jaywalking become a felony ?