A Cop in North Carolina Beat a Woman on Video — and Nobody Cares
The footage has received minimal attention, illustrating just how desensitized America has become to violence from law enforcement.
By Carron J. Phillips
Ten years ago, the incident would have been front-page news. Six years ago, it still was. Today, it might be a Google alert — depending on your settings.
Karson Hyder, a police officer in Shelby, North Carolina, now has been charged with assault after a video surfaced showing him repeatedly punching a woman during an arrest. What the footage shows — click here — seemingly goes well beyond excessive force.
Thank goodness for doorbell cameras.
“Justice will be served when Mr. Hyder is prosecuted, the Shelby Police Department extends a public apology to (his client) and family, and she is monetarily compensated for her pain and suffering,” the woman’s attorney told CNN. She reportedly suffered a broken nose, black eyes, a cut lip, and a possible concussion, according to her father. A retired New York City Police Department detective who reviewed the incident for CNN opined that the incident “employed force far beyond what the situation required” and that it appeared “to violate basic use-of-force principles.”
In 2016, police killed Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Four years later, the violence inflicted on George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Blake forced the nation to pause, if only for a moment. In 2021, Andrew Brown Jr.’s life was taken when a Pasquotank County, North Carolina, sheriff’s deputy shot him. Two years later, Darryl Tyree Williams died after getting tased multiple times by police in Raleigh. The chaos under the current administration has highlighted just how numb society has become to many issues — including cruelty from law enforcement. The tragedies of Renée Good and Alex Pretti seem forgotten. Now, we have video of a white cop beating a Black woman, and it hasn’t sparked significant protests or even hashtags.
This is definitely a “race thing.” It’s also an American epidemic.
“While yesterday’s incident was disturbing and is still raw and difficult to understand, today marks the beginning of a path forward to repair the damage that has been done,” Shelby City Manager Justin Merritt said in a news conference about the case. “This is a path that we must walk together, hand in hand, unified with the common goal of understanding, supporting each other and strengthening the fabric of a community we all hold so dear.”
That’s not how this works.
It is not the responsibility of the community to be the bigger person and support individuals whose chosen profession is to “protect and serve.” Being a law enforcement officer is not a birthright; it’s a job for most and a career for some, meaning the weight and responsibility that come with it are choices made by applicants. This distorted mindset often occurs when racial incidents happen, and a white person asks Black people to “help them understand.” Similarly, when something heinous is done to a woman, the burden of proof is placed on an entire gender to “educate the masses.”
The skewed logic that the oppressed need to help their oppressors stop oppressing eliminates accountability and provides artificial advancement to people who have not done the necessary work to evolve. It’s the same mentality that led some to advocate for the pardoning of George Floyd’s killer. “But if people can provide me other examples of police officers who have been railroaded in this way, I’m more than happy to look at it for sure,” podcaster Ben Shapiro said about Derek Chauvin, when advocating with Elon Musk for President Trump to look into the matter. It is also why some of the former Black Memphis police officers who were involved in the death of Tyre Nichols dared to file an appeal on new grounds.
“We have gotten so much injustice from this city that it is ridiculous,” RowVaughn Wells, Nichols’ mother, said in her first public remarks following the acquittals of three of the officers who were accused of beating her son to death in 2023. “My son was murdered by five Memphis Police officers. He was murdered.”
Almost 33 years to the day that Stacey C. Koon, Laurence M. Powell, Theodore J. Briseno, and Timothy E. Wind were acquitted in the Rodney King trial, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith were acquitted for the death of Nichols. It was a reminder that gruesome violence against citizens at the hands of law enforcement is allowed in cities across this country, from Los Angeles to Memphis, no matter the color of the officers involved.
A few months ago, lawyers argued that the New York City Police Department is not constitutionally required to help protect New Yorkers, contradicting the core principles of “protecting and serving.” It was the latest chapter in the long history of inequalities attached to American public safety, and a reminder that “Defund The Police” was a good idea with bad branding.
Delineation is a better approach.
Karson Hyder beat a Black woman in North Carolina, likely believing he wouldn’t face consequences for his actions. Withholding and reallocating funds set aside for law enforcement won’t fix cops like Hyder. Clearly defining what law enforcement officers cannot do, along with imposing strict penalties for violations, would be a significant step in the right direction — hopefully.
Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University. Follow his personal Substack to keep up with more of his work.
All cops that use excessive force should be reprimanded. If there is evidence of racism they should be removed immediately and permanently. I’m glad this black lady is getting compensation.
All these "incidents" show that six months of police academy training is simply not long enough to train police recruits on ALL aspects of police training.
There seems to be woefully short attention paid to these thugs who are passed through police academy training only to emerge thinking that now they're in uniform they can simply do whatever they want to and get away with it.