Christopher Hickman was charged late Thursday with assault by strangulation, assault inflicting serious injury and communicating threats, according to the Buncombe County District Attorney's Office. A phone listing for Hickman had a full inbox that wouldn't take messages Friday.
The Asheville Police chief put Hickman on desk duty immediately following the beating last August, and he resigned from the force in January after an internal investigation determined he should be fired. Still, the case remained a secret until the recording was leaked to the local newspaper and published last week, sparking community outrage. The FBI is now investigating.
The camera recorded Hickman saying "he's not learning!" before a trainee confronts Johnnie Jermaine Rush for jaywalking. Hickman first told the trainee to write him a ticket, but then told Rush to put his hands behind his back after Rush complained that officers didn't have anything better to do than "harass somebody" for walking.
Rush then tried to run and Hickman brought him down, repeatedly punching him in the head, the video shows. Hickman also struck him and shocked him with a stun gun and put him in a chokehold, according to city documents.