Hickory officer on administrative leave after hitting handcuffed man, department says

HICKORY, N.C. (WBTV) – A Hickory police officer has been placed on administrative leave after striking a man who was in handcuffs, department officials said.

According to the Hickory Police Department, officers were called to a Wendy’s restaurant for an assault call on June 28.

Police were told that a man identified as Charles Sonny Hill Jr., went into the restaurant, approached a woman and her daughter who were eating and hit the woman in the face.

The woman said she did not know Hill, according to the department.

Police found Hill, “acting agitated and erratically,” in the area of 12th Avenue Northeast, a post on the department’s Facebook page stated. He was eventually detained and placed into handcuffs.

While he was detained, an unidentified officer punched Hill in his left side, according to the department.

Hill is currently booked in the Catawba County Detention Center on charges of assault on a female and resisting a public officer.

The officer who struck Hill was placed on administrative, according to the department. An internal investigation was also initiated into the use of force used during the arrest.