Suppose we assume for a moment that Council member [Carl] Mumpower knows what he is doing. He appears to be trying to tackle the drug problem, even though this is the assigned duty of the Asheville Police Department. This leaves the rest of us wondering what he’s actually up to. Is he trying to embarrass the police, the City Council, or is he merely a troublemaker who wants us to believe he’s a crime fighter or some kind of white knight? If he’s injured or harmed in his crime fighting, do we taxpayers get to pay his bills?
With his training, we suppose he understands that drug addiction is pernicious and tenacious. Asheville has a considerable pool of homeless (sometimes said to be 65 percent addicts)—people who served in the military who haven’t gotten their lives back together, people who should be in care facilities for their addiction, people not altogether in their right minds. Couldn’t he possibly team up with the police and attack the matter by helping train, inform and possibly attack the problem at its roots? If the news outlets are an indication, he has been pursuing [his objective] for some time. By now, have there been any charges brought, any culprits apprehended, traffic interrupted, supplies captured? The answer to all of these is “No,” because he seems to be merely tinkering with the system. It’s time his motives were questioned.
If he is dissatisfied with the accomplishments of APD, he would be much more help if he became a strong supporter, calling for more slots in the department or even crusading for pay increases. We already have dogs trained to seek out drugs. For now, he appears to be after headlines, attention and an award from the John Locke Society.
Bingo.
He appears to be an attention-seeking clown with no clue how much danger he is in.