From Staff Reports

An ex-Asheville police officer is suing the former police chief for alleged libel and slander after a highly publicized police beating, contending that the police chief used her as a scapegoat and took retaliatory measures against her for complaints of inappropriate personal contact, the Asheville Citizen Times reported on Jan. 9.

“The explosive allegations from former Sgt. Lisa Taube against ex-Asheville Police Department Chief Tammy Hooper came in a Dec. 21 lawsuit filed in Buncombe County Superior Court,” according to the ACT. “The legal action represents the latest fallout from the 2017 police beating of black pedestrian Johnnie Rush.”

Also named as a defendant in the case is the City of Asheville.

The ACT added that “Hooper disciplined and publicly criticized Taube for how she responded to the Aug. 24, 2017, beating of Johnnie Rush by former officer Christopher Hickman. Hickman faces charges, including felony assault stemming from the incident. Taube arrived after the beating and as supervising officer was responsible for carrying out some APD use-of-force protocols, including interviewing Rush.”

In the aftermath, Taube was issued a written warning and was ordered to undergo additional training.

In a March 5 interview with Asheville’s WLOS-TV News 13, Hooper said that Taube’s actions were “not acceptable” and that she “dropped the ball.” On that same date, then-City Manager Gary Jackson read a statement to the media saying despite Hickman telling Taube he struck Rush in the head with his Taser and despite Rush saying he had been choked, Taube “did not immediately forward any information or complete notes of those interviews with Hickman and Rush, and did not review the body camera footage that evening,” the ACT noted.