The FBI has launched a criminal investigation on a white North Carolina officer who is seen beating and subduing a black man accused of jaywalking. The video of the officer's body camera was published last week by The Citizen-Times newspaper. On August 25, 2017, Asheville police officer Christopher Hickman stopped Jermaine Rush, 33, after accusing him of jaywalking. The case became public after footage of the officer's body camera was leaked.

Punching and shocking

In the footage, the officer is seen exiting his vehicle, and after exchanging a few words with Rush, things get heated up, and the officer is seen subduing the victim.

Hickman then starts punching him in the head and shocking Mr. Rush even after putting him in handcuffs. Rush is heard screaming in pain telling the officers he is having trouble breathing. The incident occurred at midnight in the city's minor-league baseball stadium. According to the footage, Rush claims he was coming from work when the officers arrested him.

The city manager Gary Jackson expressed his concerns on the officer's use of excessive force. His issued a memo on Monday which included an extensive-58 hour- review of Hickman's body camera footage. According to the report, this was not the first time Hickman has displayed such discourteous conduct to members of the community. The officer is seen on multiple occasions being disrespectful to other residents.

What remains unclear is why these incidents were kept under wraps and if Hickman's superiors were aware of his behavior. Asheville has a population of close to 90,000 people, 82 percent of whom are white and 12 percent black.

Hickman resigns

Hours after his arrest, Rush filed an excessive force complaint. According to the memo released on Monday, the Asheville police Chief Tammy Hooper reviewed the footage on that day and ordered Hickman to turn over his badge and weapon.

Hooper then put him on administrative duty and also disciplined the supervising officer who responded to the scene. The police chief has apologized to Rush and has also called for a formal investigation into the leak. She also added that she would resign if the public demanded it. Rush, who had been charged with resisting arrest and impeding traffic, was released on Monday and all charges were dropped.

An administrative investigation was completed in December, and the department concluded that Hickman used excessive force. According to the memo, Hickman was due to be terminated in January but resigned instead at the start of the meeting.