Bob CollinsWhat separates the police of Asheville, N.C., from some of the gendarmes in the rest of the country is they don’t shut off their body cameras when it hits the fan.
That’s why the police of Asheville, N.C., are being criticized today for an incident last August during which their dispute with a jaywalker escalated far beyond what it should have.
The city released nine videos on Monday of Johnnie Rush, who was trying to get home, being rousted because he crossed the street, which was full of invisible cars at midnight, apparently.
Christopher Hickman, the cop, quit the force in January, just before he was to be fired.
“What happened in these recordings is unacceptable and does not meet the standards of the Asheville Police Department, the values of the City of Asheville, or the expectations of Asheville residents,” city officials said in a statement accompanying the videos. “Christopher Hickman’s actions violated the Asheville Police Department’s vision that all people are treated with dignity and respect. These actions have damaged the progress that the Asheville Police Department has made in the last several years in improving community trust.”
He’s been charged with felony assault.
The date on which the jury will acquit him is uncertain.
