PRESS RELEASE:
The District Attorney’s office has reviewed the investigative materials provided by the State Bureau of Investigation in the above-referenced matter. Because of the role of the District Attorney as defined by the North Carolina Constitution and applicable statutes is largely limited to the determination of when to pursue criminal actions, the primary task before this office has been to determine whether any prosecutions should take place based on the conduct of all individuals on April 26, 2024. The details in this report relating to Haley Hodge’s conduct are also limited because charges against her are currently pending. Ms. Hodge is presumed innocent of all charges until the matters are resolved in Court.
Haley Hodge, Autumn Williams, and their three children (ages 1-6) drove from Tennessee to an Exxon Station in Bakersville, NC. Ms. Hodge was admittedly upset and intoxicated. Staff from the business reported the situation to the Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies arrived and Ms. Hodge was arrested.
Ms. Hodge was transported to the magistrate’s office in the Spruce Pine Police Department. Ms. Hodge became increasingly combative with law enforcement. During the transport, law enforcement requested a restraint chair for Hodge. However, Mitchell County Sheriff Deputies were able to de-escalate, and Ms. Hodge walked inside the building.
Upon arrival of Ms. Hodge’s companion, Autumn Williams, Ms. Hodge was moved from the Police Department to a patrol vehicle to avoid a potential conflict. Ms. Hodge was handcuffed behind her back. Due to noise emitting from the patrol vehicle, law enforcement determined additional restraints would be required. Law enforcement applied leg restraints in addition to hand restraints. However, Ms. Hodge was able to remove the leg restraints. Law Enforcement then decided the restraint chair was required.
Spruce Pine Officer Sale, previously uninvolved in this Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office arrest, began to actively participate in the situation. Deputies attempted to extract Ms. Hodge from the rear driver’s side, but she quickly moved to the rear passenger side. A deputy’s body cam captured part of the incident, but because of the dynamic situation the camera was not always pointed toward Ms. Hodge and Officer Sale. Also, the camera’s point of view was often partially obstructed during the extraction. Hodge stated that she would see someone in court. A male’s voice is heard stating “good.” Hodge leaned towards Officer Sale’s arm and stated, “I’ll bite ya.” Sale was holding Hodge down and could be seen in the video striking or pushing Ms. Hodge’s head.
A Mitchell County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant saw this exchange and attempted to intervene by asking Officer Sale “what are you doing?” The Lieutenant later stated to SBI agents that he believed that it was not necessary to strike Ms. Hodge because she was only “squirming” and was handcuffed. In addition to attempting to intervene in the moment, this Mitchell County Lieutenant reported the matter to his superior, Sheriff Donald Street. After receiving this information, Sheriff Street notified the District Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office requested a S.B.I. investigation.
Officer Sale fully cooperated with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Officer Sale completed Basic Law Enforcement Training in 2015 and began working in law enforcement that same year. Prior to working for the Spruce Pine Police Department, he reported working for five other law enforcement agencies.
Regarding the incident on April, 26th, 2024, Officer Sale reported that he witnessed Ms. Hodge kicking or attempting to kick a deputy who was trying to extract her from the patrol vehicle. Officer Sale then extracted her from the opposite side of the vehicle. Ms. Hodge’s back was to Officer Sale. Once extracted, Officer Sale felt Ms. Hodge bite him and he delivered a strike to her head. He also remembered striking Ms. Hodge when he was removing her from the vehicle. He reported that Ms. Hodge, handcuffed behind her back, dug her fingernails into his forearm. Consequently, he delivered what he classified as a “compliance punch” to her upper back/shoulder area. When asked if he had ever received instruction during any of his training on the use of “compliance punches,” Officer Sale told the investigating agent that he could not remember being advised on the use of that tactic.
Ms. Hodge was fully cooperative with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Ms. Hodge was interviewed and signed a release for her medical records. Ms. Hodge stated at the time of her arrest she was intoxicated and had not taken her medication in the past week. She remembers “freaking out” in the patrol car and ripping up booking paperwork with her teeth.
Ms. Hodge remembered being removed from the patrol car. Ms. Hodge remembered biting an officer and then getting punched. She also remembers a different officer intervening and telling the officer who struck her to not do that. Ms. Hodge showed SBI agents several bruises on her arms and legs from the incident. No indications of injuries from the April 26th incident were documented in her medical records.
After reviewing all of the available facts and applicable law, the District Attorney’s Office has made two determinations. First, making the District Attorney aware of this incident is precisely what the law requires. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-401(d1) clearly states that all law enforcement officers have a duty to report any perception or report of excessive force. As such, the Lieutenant Deputy on the scene and the Mitchell County Sheriff acted in accordance with the law and their duty. In our society no one is above the law. As such it is imperative that officers of the law have the courage to report incidents like the one in question so that allegations that have merit can be fully vetted by an independent agency. By notifying this office and involving the State Bureau of Investigations, the Sheriff and his Deputies adhered to the highest standards of their profession and fulfilled the obligations of their oaths of office.
Regarding the actions of Officer Sale, the District Attorney’s Office is limited to determining whether a crime was committed and if the State is able to prove that crime through competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not the role of the District Attorney’s Office to determine whether Spruce Pine Police Department’s policy on the use of force was followed or whether any civil liability exists as it relates to the actions of Officer Sale or the Town of Spruce Pine. The only possible criminal law violation on the part of Officer Sale would be a misdemeanor assault in violation of NCGS §14-33.
By Ms. Hodge’s admissions, she was not cooperative with law enforcement and she either bit or attempted to bite a law enforcement officer. And while the District Attorney’s Office maintains that some of the initial concerns voiced by Sheriff’s Department personnel were valid and at least created the perception of the use of excessive force, the investigative file does not contain proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a violation of the criminal law occurred in this instance. Therefore, this office will not be seeking criminal charges against Officer Sale for his conduct during this incident.
