It’s no secret that officers are quitting the Asheville Police Department in droves, but what’s less certain is why officers are leaving. Xpress reached out to more than 50 former APD officers about their resignations. Only two agreed to share their thoughts, both under the condition of anonymity out of fear of professional consequences at their new jobs.
Christopher Hickman’s period of supervised probation for the 2017 assault of Johnnie Rush might have ended this month if not for delays in the community engagement portion of his restorative justice plea deal. COVID-19, as well as other obligations for the Raleigh-based program director, disrupted the yearlong schedule and will lead to an extension of Hickman’s probation.
“I could give you a litany of racial injustice incidents that I’ve personally observed over the years.”
Community response is mixed over the recent plea deal for former Asheville police officer Christopher Hickman. What exactly will the next 12 months look like and how will the restorative justice process work? Advocates for the deal have high hopes, despite lacking a clear plan.
Buncombe County District Attorney provided a statement via Twitter on the Aug. 9 guilty plea of former Asheville Police Officer Christopher Hickman in the Aug. 25, 2017, beating of Asheville resident Johnnie Rush.
“Now we have seen release of body-cam footage, strictly illegal under state law absent judicial review. What was the aim? To embarrass current Asheville Police Chief Tammy Hooper.”
If this year’s primary race for Buncombe County district attorney seems a bit familiar, that could be because it’s happened before. After then-defense attorney Todd Williams upset six-term officeholder Ron Moore in the 2014 Democratic primary (with no Republicans or Libertarians competing), Ben Scales collected nearly 8,000 signatures to get on the general election ballot […]
In the fallout from the APD body camera leak, members of a work group that helped revise the APD’s use of force policy say they believe the policy has held up under scrutiny.
City Council discussed police reforms during a work session on March 20 and ousted longtime City Manager Gary Jackson, who was about nine months away from retirement.
