. >> today in court chris hickman got to feel what it's like on the other end of the law, mug shot includedning in january facing strangulation and two felonies assault inflicting serious issues and communicating threats. why it took six months to file charges has caused outrage. >> when they failed to acknowledge something bad has happened only makes us trust them less and make crime increase across the board. >> this is not about police brouillette it's about a system brutalizing our community. >> councilmember answered tough questions few nights ago. fw fwla. >> the whole thing is bad when i watched it had same reaction as probably you watched it. it's just a terrible egregious case, it's just a bad thing from start to finish. >> she's even offered to if it would help adding the video only became public after it was leaked to the press. after watching the video behind closed door the district attorney moved to drop the charges against rush but not until five months after the incident that criminal investigation fighted against hickman. >> the police chief should have first viewed the tap

home when two officers stopped him and accused him of crossing an empty street in the office of chris hickman can later be seen punching and tasering rush you may find the following video disturbing. or courage. or should point. zero. five. i probed. the problem. i. don't i. don't rush. oh no well but it was late six months after the incident took place anti police brutality activist michelle gross says the police department's refusal to act on the video until it's meek is alarming. the video was held by the police department all this time and all of this time they could have taken action against officer hickman an officer or gary and they chose not to you know supervisors look at that footage right away or least they're supposed to and clearly he had no fear of any kinds of accountability related to that conduct this must be standard operating procedure in that particular police department and frankly it is in many police departments these videos must always be made public we have no way to monitor police conduct and to understand how our police are operating if we can't watch those videos t

home when two officers stopped him and accused him of crossing an empty street illegally officer chris hickman can later be seen punching and tasering rush you may find the following video disturbing. work. ok. i've heard. it from oh god oh oh oh. oh oh oh oh oh oh. oh oh oh oh oh oh oh well actually it was leaked six months after the incident took place police brutality activist michelle gross says the police department's refusal to went on the video until it's me is alarming the video was held by the police department all this time and all of this time they could have taken action against officer hickman an officer or gary and they chose not to you know supervisors look at that footage right away early so supposed to and clearly he had no fear of any kinds of accountability related to that conduct this must be standard operating procedure in that particular police department and frankly it is in many police departments these videos must always be made public we have no way to monitor police conduct and to understand how our police are operating if we can't watch those videos that they themse

home when two officers stopped him and accused him of crossing and the street illegally officer chris hickman can later be seen punching and tasering rush you might find the following video disturbing. i pray. god. oh my. god well that clip there was leaked six months after the incident took place and police brutality activist michelle gross says the police department's refusal to act on the video until it's leak is alarming the video was held by the police department all this time and all of this time they could have taken action against officer hickman an officer or gary and they chose not to you know supervisors look at that footage right away early so supposed to. and clearly he had no fear of any kinds of accountability related to that conduct this must be standard operating procedure in that particular police department and frankly it is in many police departments these videos must always be made public we have no way to monitor police conduct and to understand how our police are operating if we can't watch those videos that they themselves collect on their own activities well in respon

home when two officers stopped him and accused him of crossing an empty street illegally officer chris hickman can later be seen punching in tasering rush you may find the following video disturbing. ok. i've heard. oh god oh god oh oh oh. oh oh oh oh. oh oh oh oh well done it was leaked six months after the incident took place and police brutality activist michelle gross says the police department's refusal to act on the video until it's leak is alarming the video was held by the police department all this time and all of this time they could have taken action against officer hickman an officer or gary and they chose not to you know supervisors look at that footage right away early so supposed to and clearly he had no fear of any kinds of accountability related to that conduct this must be standard operating procedure in that particular police department and frankly it is in many police departments these videos must always be made public we have no way to monitor police conduct and to understand how our police are operating if we can't watch those videos that they themselves collect on their

work when two officers stopped him and accused him of crossing an empty street illegally officer chris hickman can then be seen punching and tasing rush we should warn you that the next part of the video is disturbing. your. own. well that was leaked in february six months after the incident took place police brutality activist michelle gross says the police department's refusal to act on the video until it was released is a nominee. the video was held by the police department all this time and all of this time they could have taken action against officer hickman an officer or gary and they chose not to you know supervisors look at that footage right away or least they're supposed to and clearly he had no fear of any kinds of accountability related to that conduct this must be standard operating procedure in that particular police department and frankly it is in many police departments these videos must always be made public we have no way to monitor police conduct and to understand how our police are operating if we can't watch those videos that they themselves collect on their own activities

the images from last summer were captured by a body camera worn by former police officer chris hickmano is seen here pushing johnny rush's face into the asphalt before he shoots him with a stun gun. lush was accused of jaywalking. officer hickman resigned in january. the other officer, who stood by and watched, does not appear to have been disciplined. at least not yet. last night, residents turned out in force for a heated town hall meeting. directing their anger towards the police chief, tammy hooper, who says she acted quickly once she saw the video. >> we immediately took that complaint. pulled the body cam video. and, um, obviously, upon watching that, recognized it was a very egregious -- very egregious and violent episode. >> now, chief hooper blames the delay in acting on a supervisor who told her that she had reviewed the incident but not the video. at the meeting last night, hooper offered to resign she says if that solves the problems. >>> some expensive office doors have interior secretary ryan zinke facing some scrutiny about sending. his department is upgrading three sets

. >> reporter: chris hickman was the police officer wearing the body camera in this disturbing video that only became public last week. he's seen punching the daylights out of johnnie rush, an unarmed black man leaving work, who they were arresting for jaywalking. the police chief says she's disciplined the supervisor you see here listening to the officer tell his side of the story. >> tried to drag the taser out of my hand, and then i just went on his [ bleep ] head. >> reporter: investigators say she failed to go look at the video. >> the supervisor dropped the ball on the response to that and was disciplined as a result. >> reporter: hickman tonight is facing three charges, including assault by strangulation, a felony. the incident took place in august. why it took six months and a leaked video before charges were filed has many in asheville upset. >> it's an obvious bad thing. this isn't something that should happen anymore. >> reporter: the former officer has not yet entered a plea. he appears in court again in april, david? >> steve osunsami, our thanks to you again tonight. >>

work when two officers stopped him and accused him of crossing an empty street illegally officer chris hickman can then be seen beating and tasing rush we should warn you that the next part of the video is disturbing. but worth your. heart. on. your own heart. for more on this we can now hear from michelle gros an activist from community is united against police brutality michelle thank you very much for joining us well as we mentioned that the officer has been charged with the sole to mean do you think that would have happened if this video hadn't been released. i don't in fact who thought it was sense that most people realize happened last august and it was the video was held by the police department all this time and all of this time they could have taken action against officer hickman an officer or gary and they chose not to basically and to hide the video and keep it a secret oh well the local police chief thomas has said that the release of the body count video was on the wall full and an investigation may be launched into having got out i mean do you think it's such video should actuall

. >> reporter: that's the voice of former officer chris hickman, who's running and is wearing the body camera, and is heard promising to make the beating a good one. the video was first published by the citizens times newspaper. you see hickman punching rush's face into the asphalt while another white officer, trainee verino rugeirro watches. >> i can't! i can't. i can't breathe. i can't breathe. >> reporter: and as rush is saying he can't breathe, officer hickman shoots him with a stun gun. >> ow, ow! >> lie down flat. >> i can't. i can't. i can't, i can't! >> reporter: this is in august and started because they say he was jaywalking. hickman resigned in january. >> all this over you getting a ticket? now it's serious, bro. >> reporter: yes, it's incredibly serious. the fbi is investigating tonight, and now the police chief is having to face angry citizens and explain why it took months to do anything. rush was unarmed. >> this is not about police brutality. this is about a system that is brutalizing us. >> reporter: she's offered to step down if it will help. >> the whole thing is ba

. >> reporter: officer chris hickman, who is wearing a body camera steps in, but rush starts to run. >> you know what's funny? you know what's funny is you're going to get [ bleep ] up hard core. >> reporter: once he tackled, hickman punches rush in the head, then tasers him. >> ow! you didn't have to punch me in my face for no reason. ow! >> you didn't have to make me. >> reporter: rush was charged with impeding traffic and resisting an officer, but the charges were later dropped. the chief decided to fire officer hickman in january, but hickman resigned first. nbc news could not reach him for comment. >> put your hands behind your back. >> this video is disturbing to me in a way that turns my stomach. it's sickening. it's distasteful. it brings a lot of raw emotion and feeling to one to see this and to understand that, no, this shouldn't be happening in my community. >> i can't breathe! >> reporter: the mayor has apologized to johnny rush and a federal investigation is now under way. gabe gutierrez, nbc news. >> a police body cam bearing witness. tough to watch. >>> after the secon

the video from august 25 shows police officer chris hickman choking, beating, and tasering johnnie jermaine rush, who repeatedly says "i can't breathe." and the vatican has announced salvadoran archbishop oscar romero will become a saint. archbishop romero was a champion for the poor and oppressed who was murdered by a right-wing death squad in 1980 at the beginning of the brutal, u.s.-backed dirty war in el salvador. only weeks before his assassination, romero wrote a letter to u.s. president jimmy him to notling on provide military aid to the right-wing salvadoran military government. then in the archbishop's final and now-infamous sermon, he made a direct appeal to salvadoran soldiers to lay down their weapons. >> in his name and in the name of our tormented people who have suffered so much in his limits cry out to heaven, i am for you, i beg you, i order you to stop the repression. amy: only moments later, gunmen entered the church where archbishop romero was giving mass and assassinated him. nearly 40 years later, salvadoran archbishop oscar romero will now be made a saint. and those a

this is former cop chris hickman. >> yes, your honor. >> reporter: striking a different tone in frontudge after this disturbing video was leaked. >> put your hands behind your back. >> reporter: that's johnny jermaine rush. a black man on his way home from work. confronted for all jaywalking. >> what's funny is you're going to get [ bleep ] up hard core. >> reporter: that's officer hickman. he's wearing a body cam. when rush tries talking his way out of the ticket. >> ow! >> reporter: he gets tased. beaten. and choked. >> oh, my gosh. >> there you go, rush. >> reporter: that was august of 2017. it wasn't until the body cam video was leaked last week and the fbi got involved that hickman was hit with charges, including felony strangulation. at the this time, the officer hasn't entered a plea. >> ran, laughing. >> reporter: the police chief says she's disciplined the supervisor you see here listening to the officer tell his side of the story. >> the supervisor dropped the ball in the response and was disciplined as a result. >> oh, my god. >> there you go, rush. >> reporter: if you list

. >> reporter: body cam video shows the confrontation between then officer chris hickman and johnnierush. >> you ain't got [ bleep ] to do besides harass somebody walking. >> reporter: after a brief skru scuffle, rush takes off. >> black male, thinks it's funny. you know what's funny, you're going to get [ bleep ] up hard core. get on the ground. >> reporter: once hickman and another officer catch up to rush. >> please. i can't breathe. >> reporter: hickman appears to hit him in the head repeatedly, then taze him. the confrontation took place last august. asheville police say they received a use of force complaint and removed hick man from patrol the next day. then launched an internal affairs investigation and informed the district attorney. the d.a.'s office says it chose not to file charges in december so the investigation could continue. in december, police returned with three new videos related to officer hickman's use of form. he resigned in january. >> i don't understand why the d.a. didn't bring charges. >> reporter: community members this week grilled asheville officials at