A white former North Carolina police officer, who was captured on body camera video in 2017 beating and using a stun gun on an African-American man stopped for jaywalking, was the subject Thursday in a criminal arrest warrant for assault and communicating threats, the Buncombe County district attorney announced. 
 
 The warrant against Christopher Hickman was issued by Chief Magistrate D.L. Cowan on charges of assault by strangulation, assault inflicting serious injury and communicating threats, according to a press release from District Attorney Todd Williams. 
 
 Hickman case news: pic.twitter.com/ayewjg9g8f — Buncombe County DA (@BuncombeCoDA) March 9, 2018 
 
 The announcement, which also said no further comment would be forthcoming, comes days after the Asheville Police Department, where Hickman worked at the time of the alleged assault, submitted the results of its investigation into Hickman's actions. 
 
 The @BuncombeCoDA confirms @AshevillePolice submitted the Officer Hickman investigation to the Office for review this morning. — Buncombe County DA (@BuncombeCoDA) March 6, 2018 
 
 The announcement comes after the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, which had declined to open its own investigation into the matter, said the FBI had launched a criminal investigation into the case. 
 
 Federal agents were asked by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to conduct the criminal probe against Hickman, officials said. 
 
 ABC News 
 
 Patty McQuillan, a spokesman for the state Bureau of Investigation, said the decision to bring in the FBI was made after discussions with the Buncombe County District Attorney's Office. 
 
 "The SBI director has discussed this with the district attorney and has declined to open a separate state investigation at this time given that the SBI is already assisting with a federal criminal investigation which will encompass most, if not all, of the issues set forth in the district attorney’s request," McQuillan said in a statement to ABC News. "A second state investigation would likely duplicate much of the results of the ongoing federal investigation." 
 
 That did not deter Williams from asking the SBI director for a probe as late as March 2, according to a letter tweeted by the D.A. after the disturbing video was leaked to a news organization. 
 
 DA Williams' letter to NC SBI Director Bob Schurmeier #avlnews #wncnews pic.twitter.com/EaUiezlQ3g — Buncombe County DA (@BuncombeCoDA) March 2, 2018 
 
 The criminal probe stems from an incident on Aug. 25, 2017, when Hickman and a partner he was training stopped 33-year-old Johnnie Jermaine Rush for allegedly jaywalking in Asheville. 
 
 ABC News 
 
 Video taken by Hickman's body camera, which was leaked to the Citizen Times of Asheville, shows he and his partner stopping Rush and telling him they had warned him four times to use a crosswalk instead of jaywalking and trespassing on private property. 
 
 "I don't care. I just got off of work, man," Rush told the officers. 
 
 Rush went on to tell the officers, "You ain't got nothing better to do besides mess with me, and I'm trying to go home?" 
 
 Hickman eventually ordered Rush to put his hands behind his back, but Rush backed away and started to run, the video shows. 
 
 As Hickman ran after Rush, he radioed a dispatcher, saying, "black male, tank top, thinks its funny." Then he yelled at Rush, "You know what's funny is you're going to get f----- up hardcore on the ground." 
 
 Hickman tackled Rush and the two men wrestled before Hickman's partner and at least two other back-up officers helped hold Rush down. 
 
 The video shows Hickman punching Rush in the head repeatedly and then shooting him with a yellow stun gun. 
 
 As officers held Rush on the ground and handcuffed him, Rush is heard on the video screaming in pain and yelling, "I can't breathe! I can't breathe." 
 
 Rush is shown in the footage being put in the back of a police car and paramedics checking his bloodied face and head. 
 
 As the footage continued, Hickman told an arriving supervisor that Rush "tried to drag the Taser out of my hand." 
 
 "I beat the s--- out of his head. I'm not going to lie about that," Hickman is heard saying. 
 
 Rush was arrested on suspicion of trespassing, impeding traffic and resisting a public officer. 
 
 In a report to the Asheville City Council on Monday, City Manager Gary Jackson wrote, "The use of force shown in the recordings is, understandably, a source of great anger and concern within the community." 
 
 "I am concerned that the public does not presently have access to all of the information necessary for it to judge the City's response to this officer's actions, and that absent that information, this matter will continue to negatively impact the community's perception of its police department and the way which the city responds to misconduct by its employees," Jackson wrote. 
 
 Jackson wrote that as soon as Asheville Police Chief Tammy Hooper saw the video on the night it was taken, she ordered Hickman to "to turn in his badge and gun." 
 
 On Sept. 15, 2017, Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams dropped all charges against Rush. 
 
 Jackson wrote that Hickman ordered a review of all body camera footage taken by Hickman while on duty. He said 58 hours of footage was reviewed and "revealed four other instances where Hickman displayed discourteous and rude conduct to members of the public." 
 
 "The administrative investigation into Hickman's arrest of Rush concluded that Hickman had engaged in excessive force in violation of [Asheville Police Department] policy, as well as unbecoming conduct and failing to meet the responsibilities of duty," Jackson wrote. 
 
 ABC News 
 
 Chief Hooper fired Hickman on Jan. 5, according to Jackson. 
 
 "The community deserves to know that the City takes Hickman's misconduct seriously, and that APD employees who engage in excessive force will be held accountable." 
 
 Efforts by ABC News to reach Hickman for comment were not successful. 
 
 During a community meeting Wednesday night, many Asheville residents said Hickman should have been arrested and charged with assault. 
 
 "This is a human rights issue, and Hickman should've been charged from day one," DeLores Venabel, local Black Lives Matter leader, said during the meeting. "If no one would've leaked it [the video] or said something, we would be in the dark.” 
 
 During the meeting, Hooper repeated an apology to the community she first publicly issued on March 1, saying, “I am happy to resign if that will solve the problem.” ||||| (CNN) A western North Carolina police officer who resigned after a body camera video shows him hitting and using a Taser on a man suspected of jaywalking will face preliminary charges of assault, the Buncombe County District Attorney's Office said Thursday. 
 
 Senior Police Officer Christopher Hickman, 31, was removed from patrol duty a day after the incident last August and resigned from the Asheville Police Department in January, the same day he was to be terminated, according to a timeline of the case released by the Asheville City Council 
 
 On Thursday, a judge issued a warrant for Hickman's arrest on one count each of assault by strangulation, assault inflicting serious injury and communicating threats. 
 
 Christopher Hickman was removed from patrol duty a day after the incident last summer. 
 
 Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer said Hickman has been taken into custody. It is unclear whether Hickman has an attorney. 
 
 CNN reached out to the Fraternal Order of Police lodge in Asheville and didn't receive an immediate comment. 
 
 The release of body cam video in late February caused outrage in this North Carolina city in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The video shows Hickman and an officer in training stopping Johnnie Jermaine Rush, then 32, for allegedly jaywalking in the early morning hours of August 25, 2017. 
 
 After initial words were exchanged, Hickman moves to arrest Rush, who then flees on foot, according to video of the incident published by the Asheville Citizen-Times on February 28 
 
 "(He) thinks it's funny," Hickman is heard saying as he chases Rush. "You know what's funny is you're gonna get f---ed up hardcore." 
 
 The officers catch Rush and tackle him. As Rush is being restrained on the ground, Hickman punches him in the head several times, shoots him with a stun gun and chokes him. 
 
 "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" Rush repeatedly yells. "Help! Help!" 
 
 Later in the video, Hickman speaks with another officer. 
 
 "I beat the s--- out of his head," Hickman says. "Not gonna lie about that." 
 
 The violent arrest is one of several videotaped instances in recent years that have generated anger and public debate about police use of force. 
 
 Hickman did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Rush could not be reached for comment. 
 
 A spokesman for the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation told CNN on Thursday that the FBI has launched an investigation into the incident, and has requested assistance in the probe. The US Department of Justice told CNN it never comments on whether there is an investigation. 
 
 Tempers flared at a town hall meeting Wednesday as locals expressed their frustration and anger about the incident, according to CNN affiliate WLOS . Amid the outcry, police Chief Tammy Hooper said she would resign if it would help resolve the problem, WLOS reported. 
 
 CNN called the police department but was unable to get a comment from the chief. 
 
 "There is no excuse for what happened to Johnnie Rush," the ACLU of North Carolina said in a tweet . "Police must protect and serve everyone, regardless of race. Instead, a Black man gets beaten, tased, and choked over jaywalking. That's right, jaywalking." 
 
 "The City Council and I immediately contacted city administration to express our outrage at the treatment of Mr. Rush and our outrage of not being informed about the actions of APD officers," Manheimer wrote. "We will have accountability and, above all, transparency." 
 
 Manheimer said the council wants to review how the incident was handled by police administrators and to look at police policies and training. 
 
 Officer resigned before termination 
 
 Rush initially was charged with second-degree trespassing and resisting a public officer. He filed a complaint with police the day he was arrested alleging Hickman used excessive force. 
 
 Chief Hooper watched the body camera footage, according to the timeline, and ordered Hickman off the street and told him to turn in his badge and gun. He was placed on administrative duty after Rush's complaint. 
 
 "The whole thing is bad, right? When I watched the video, I had the same reaction as probably you did when you watched it," Hooper told WLOS . "It's just a terrible, egregious case. The whole reason around the stop to begin with was just a bad thing from start to finish." 
 
 The district attorney and Asheville police agreed to dismiss the charges against Rush in September after watching the body camera footage, according to documents from the City Council. 
 
 "The acts demonstrated in the video were egregious and unacceptable," Asheville police said. "Therefore, APD requested that all charges against Mr. Rush related to this incident be dropped, to which the DA agreed and dismissed them." 
 
 Officials then went back and reviewed 58 hours of Hickman's body camera footage and found four other instances in which he displayed "discourteous and rude conduct to members of the public," according to the timeline. 
 
 In January, Hooper moved to fire Hickman but the officer resigned first. 
 
 Hooper also asked a detective to investigate whether Hickman committed criminal assault in the interaction, according to the timeline. That investigation is ongoing. 
 
 "The acts demonstrated in this video are unacceptable and contrary to the department's vision and the progress we have made in the last several years in improving community trust," the police chief said in a statement. 
 
 "Officers know that they must earn the trust of our community by providing fair and respectful service. That very clearly did not happen during the incident depicted and for that I apologize to Mr. Rush, as well as the community," Hooper said. 
 
 Statement from Chief Hooper regarding the video on @asheville. #The acts demonstrated in this video are unacceptable and contrary to the Department's vision and the progress we have made in the last several years in improving community trust..." pic.twitter.com/9fNSeKIiMR — Asheville Police (@AshevillePolice) March 1, 2018 
 
 'I can't breathe' 
 
 The body camera video published online by the Citizen-Times begins as Hickman and an officer in training decide to get out of the car and talk to Rush. They say in the video that they had just warned him not to jaywalk. 
 
 "You ain't got nothing better to do besides mess with me, and I'm trying to go home," Rush says. "I just got off of work, man. I'm tired." 
 
 The officer in training says he saw Rush fail to use a crosswalk four times in a row. 
 
 "I was polite with you and asked you, use the crosswalk. I know what you're doing man," the officer in training says. "You think I'm a punk. Guess what, I'm not. I don't think you're a punk either." 
 
 The officer in training says he can either arrest Rush or write him a ticket. After more words are exchanged, the officer in training begins to write a ticket. 
 
 "Ya'll ain't got s--- better to do besides harass somebody about f---ing walking," Rush says. 
 
 Hickman then tells Rush to put his hands behind his back. As the officers approach, Rush flees. 
 
 The officers catch up to him and tackle him to the ground. They order him to put his hands behind his back, and he says he can't. 
 
 "I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" 
 
 Hickman picks up his stun gun and shoots Rush on the ground, who screams in pain. The video shows Hickman putting his left hand around Rush's throat and ordering him to put his hands behind his back. 
 
 "I can't!" Rush says. 
 
 'I beat the s--- out of his head' 
 
 Other officers arrive on the scene, and Rush is handcuffed on the ground. 
 
 "All this over you getting a ticket? Now it's serious, bro," Hickman says. 
 
 Hickman then begins yelling at Rush and asks him, "What's wrong with you?" 
 
 "Stop yelling at me," Rush says. 
 
 "Well, then get up and we'll put you in a car, tough boy," Hickman says. 
 
 Officers help Rush up, the video shows, and as Hickman moves him over to his patrol car, he pushes Rush's head down. 
 
 "Stop, man, you ain't got to do all of that," Rush says. 
 
 "Don't look at me with your spitty, blood face," Hickman responds. 
 
 "Yeah, because you've been hitting me in my face," Rush says. 
 
 "Yeah, you're right," Hickman says. 
 
 "So that give you the right to punch me in my face?" Rush says. 
 
 "Unfortunately, it is," officer says. 
 
 Later, Hickman speaks with a supervisor on the scene about what happened. The city manager identified the person as a supervisor. 
 
 "He started throwing a fit on the sidewalk. I told him to get his hands behind his back, and it was on from there. (He) ran, laughing, saying 'f--- you,' 'can't wait til you catch me.' So we caught him," Hickman says. 
 
 "Then he wanted to fight. Tried to drag the Taser out of my hand, and then I just went on his f---ing head. I beat the s--- out of his head. Not gonna lie about that." 
 
 The supervisor tasked with reviewing cases of use of force failed to forward any information or notes from Hickman or Rush and did not review the body camera footage, according to the City Council timeline. That supervisor was disciplined and ordered to undergo more training.
– A North Carolina police officer recorded beating a black man stopped for jaywalking now faces criminal charges. It began around midnight on Aug. 25 when officer Christopher Hickman and a police trainee stopped 33-year-old Johnnie Jermaine Rush in Asheville and accused him of jaywalking and trespassing through a parking lot, reports the Asheville Citizen-Times. Rush explained he just got off work. "You ain't got nothing better to do besides mess with me?" he asked, per ABC News. Video from a body camera worn by Hickman, who is white, shows Rush running away after Hickman's order to put his hands behind his back. As Rush runs, the officer says, "You know what's funny is you're going to get f----- up hardcore." In the ensuing altercation, Hickman is seen repeatedly punching Rush in the face, as Rush says, "I can't breathe." Hickman also uses a stun gun on Rush, who at one point has another person's hands on his throat, per the Citizen-Times. "I beat the s--- out of his head. I'm not going to lie about that," Hickman later says. Assault charges against Rush were dropped soon after he filed an excessive force complaint. Hickman resigned in January just as he was about to be fired. But local outrage hit a peak when the body camera footage leaked late last month, per CNN. On Thursday, the Buncombe County District Attorney's Office announced Hickman had been arrested on charges including felony assault by strangulation and communicating threats. He is now free on bond.