Cops indicted for beating homeless black man with flashlights and letting dog bite him

On April 4th, 29-year-old Kyron Dwain Hinton was crossing the street when he was approached by officers from the Wake County Sheriff's office. Hinton had just left a sweepstakes parlor, according to the News Observer. He was homeless at the time.

The three officers allegedly attacked him with their flashlights and allowed their dog to bite him. Today, a Wake County  grand jury indicted them on charges of felony assault and the failure to willfully discharge duties.

Hinton has said he presented no threat to the officers, though he admits to being mad. "I was angry," he's said, according to the Observer. "I didn't say I wasn't, and I was moving my arms and hands from side to side, but not with a threatening action."

At a press conference today civil rights advocates praised the indictment as a good first step to achieving justice for Hinton.

"We're part of justice being served," said Dawn Balgrove, executive director of the Carolina Justice Policy Center, at Hinton's side during a press conference. "While we are excited, and happy and vindicated, for this indictment, this is not where the story ends. This indictment is where the story and the fight really begins."