SHELBY, N.C. (WLOS) — Some readers may find the content of this story and photo gallery disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.
The assault charge filed against a Shelby police officer is prompting renewed discussion about how law enforcement responds to people experiencing mental health crises.
Home security video obtained by CNN shows Shelby police officer Karson Hyder repeatedly punching 34-year-old Cherrie Moore during an arrest. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced on June 1 that Hyder was charged with one count of assault inflicting serious injury. Hyder turned himself in at the Cleveland County Detention Center at 10 a.m. on June 1, the SBI confirmed. He was then processed and released on a $10,000 secured bond.
He will be in Cleveland County court today to have electronic warrants assigned.
Moore’s father has said his daughter suffers from mental health issues.
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News 13 spoke with Brandon McGaha, a staff representative with the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association. McGaha said Hyder, 22, is a member of the organization.
“Use of force situations are ugly. There’s no way to make them pretty. And they’re always going to look bad, especially when only part of the story is being released. That’s not anybody’s fault. That’s just kind of the way it must be,” McGaha said.
When asked whether situations like the one in Shelby are preventable, McGaha said it varies.
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“You see some officers dealing with mental health crisis where they talk to the person, the person calms right down, right? And then you see the other ones where the uniform just sets the person off,” McGaha said.
He said training officers for these situations has improved over the years.
“For somebody who’s in crisis, it teaches you how to speak with that person and hopefully de-escalate the situation,” McGaha said.
At Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College in their Basic Law Enforcement Training program, cadets are prepared for these instances.
“We train officers to take every situation differently. In order to use force, you have to have a good reason,” said Daryl Fisher, director of law enforcement training at A-B Tech.
“What we teach is whenever you are encountering someone who has any type of mental health issues is you want to make sure that you are not only dealing with the situation itself, but if that person needs some type of assistance, you try to get them that assistance,” Fisher said.
He said cadets also learn that their actions can have lasting consequences.
“Because if we don’t do things right, bad things happen, and our reputation is extremely important to us, not only as officers, but as trainers. We want to make sure we do things right,” Fisher said.