City of Asheville Staff Emails: Occupy Asheville

From: Captain Daryl Fisher

Subject: Occupy Asheville

Date: 2011-10-20 12:13:24

To:

Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Patrol Captain Jeff Estes has contacted me
ref an e-mail request he received from our CM Office. Captain Estes
contacted me to relay their response. Here is what Charlotte is doing:

Charlotte has areas within the City they call Public Forum Space. These
spaces are NOT City Parks but are spaces owned by the City. Most are
parking lots or paved areas but there is a a grassy area where the old
City Hall once stood. This area is in front of the current Police
Headquarters. These Public Forum Spaces can be utilized by ANY group
and are not designated for one group's use specifically. This way, the
City of Charlotte can remain neutral and any group can exercise their
1st Amendment rights and the City does not facilitate assistance or any
involvement. There are no time constraints on occupying these
properties.

No semi-permanent structures are allowed on these properties.
Porta-Johns are considered semi-permanent structures. Tents not
connected to one another or not connected to any structure are NOT
considered semi-permanent structures. Public Health is a concern.
Anyone caught urinating or defecating on the property will be asked to
leave and not return. If the person does not leave, they will be
escorted off the property.

The City of Charlotte does not require a permit for a gathering of 50
persons or less. The permit process is not strict as long as any group
notifies the police of their scheduled activities. The police work with
any group to make sure public safety is assured.

The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department has designated at least 2
officers 24/7 to monitor this group's activities. The police do not
interfere or take any action unless to quell a breach of the peace. One
supervisor is designated to gather intelligence from the department's
intelligence unit (this unit is in place for City wide activities and
not just for this group), the officers on site, or any intelligence that
involves the group as well as compile daily written briefings to the
Patrol Captain and them disseminated to Staff who need to know. The
City of Charlotte also funnels information through only one source so
that any communication being disseminated by the City comes from this
one source.

Captain Estes does tell me they are having similar issues as we are with
persons or groups trying to escalate the occupation to include vandalism
and related criminal violations. Captain Estes believes this activity
may increase police encounters.

What Charlotte PD is doing is what we at APD are in the beginning stages
of doing. I do not know if we have the staffing available to assign
officers full time to monitor this group but we could through Augment
overtime coupled with on duty personnel. I would not want to spread our
current staffing too thin. Sgt. Jonathan Brown will be out supervisor
assigned to funnel intelligence through. We will also be using on duty
folks in a plain clothes capacity to conduct intelligence gathering.

Thanks!!
Captain Daryl Fisher, MPA
Patrol Operations Division Commander
City of Asheville Police Department
AOMP 23
FBI NA 231

Phone: 828-259-5994
E-mail: dfisher@ashevillenc.gov

Mailing Address:
PO Box 7148
Asheville, NC 28802

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