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

Police officers.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

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."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up

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.

Explore More
Bonnie Kristian

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.