Video shows police punching, choking, stunning a black man accused of jaywalking


Nine body camera videos released by the city of Asheville, North Carolina, on Monday show a police officer, Christopher Hickman, aggressively assaulting a man, Johnnie Rush, who was stopped on suspicion of jaywalking.
Rush, who is black, was walking home from work when he was confronted by Hickman, who is white, as well as a second officer, Verino Ruggiero, who was still in training. The officers told Rush he had "just committed four crimes in a row": trespassing by walking across a parking lot and jaywalking "again and again."
"All I'm trying to do is go home, man," Rush replied. Asked why it's too hard to use a crosswalk, he sought to diffuse the situation. "You're right," he said. "It's not, sir. It's not. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You're right."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ruggiero seemed content to write Rush a ticket, but after Rush commented that the police could make better use of their time, Hickman moved to arrest him. "You know what's funny is you're gonna get f‑‑‑ed up hardcore," Hickman said. "Get on the ground." He soon had Rush in a stranglehold, punching him seven to 10 times before using a stun gun to zap him and hit him on the head. "I beat the s‑‑t out of his head. I'm not gonna lie about that," Hickman said after the fact.
All charges against Rush were eventually dropped. Hickman has been fired and charged with felony assault by strangulation, as well as misdemeanor assault and misdemeanor threats. His attorney believes he will be acquitted by a jury.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
'More must be done'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Are masked ICE agents America's new secret police?
Today's Big Question Critics say masks undermine trust in law enforcement
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambush
Speed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrial
Speed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California