In a Facebook post, Lynn Fraser a forensic technician with the Asheville Police Department, called Occupy Asheville protesters “dirtasses” after they complained about police officers recording a march yesterday. In comments on the post, Melissa Williams, the city’s public information and social media specialist, responds with “LMAO” or “Laughing My Ass Off.” In previous post, Fraser also designated Occupiers as a group that “just need a hug … around the neck… with a rope.”
The Asheville Police Department has arrested four Occupy Asheville participants today, Nov. 5, for alleged actions on Nov. 2. The charges are resisting public officers, impeding traffic, unlawful assembly and, in the case of one protester, wearing a mask in public. In a statement, Occupy Asheville claims condemns the arrests and claims one of those charged was home sick on the day in question.
After Asheville City Council refused Occupy Asheville’s request for indefinite camping in a public park on Oct. 25, eight protesters remained in Pack Square Park after curfew and were arrested. Four of those demonstrators tell Xpress about what they did, and why they did it.
Four Occupy Asheville demonstrators, part of a “corporate clean-up crew” were arrested for trespassing this afternoon after picking up litter and wiping windows at the Merrill-Lynch building in downtown.
An Asheville Police Department spokesperson tells Xpress that the department has had no troubles or conflicts with Occupy Asheville demonstrators so far, and has made no arrests.
The Asheville Police Department is looking for a suspect involved in the robbery of a First Citizens Bank on Tunnel Road earlier this afternoon.
The city of Asheville will hold a series of community input sessions Sept. 8 and 9, seeking input on the hiring of a new chief for the Asheville Police Department. The office is filled by interim Chief Wade Wood, since Chief Bill Hogan retied in May, amidst controversy about missing evidence and the settlement of a harassment lawsuit involving a (still-employed) APD officer.
The Asheville Police Department is looking for Destiny Lynn Reifschneider, last seen in South Asheville Thursday, Aug. 25.
Yesterday, a short video made the rounds of an Asheville Police Department SWAT team firing into an apartment and advancing. Now the APD has released details of the standoff with Erich Shakir, who police claim barricaded himself inside a North Asheville apartment filled with “a large arsenal of knives, compound bows, dart guns, and battle axes” after fleeing a domestic violence charge. According to the APD’s statement, Shakir was subdued using non-lethal methods, including tear gas and a bean-bag round.
July 28: The Asheville Police Department released details late last night, including suspect descriptions, for six recent home invasions, four of them in the West Asheville area, some of which may be related. Public speculation and concerns about home invasions in the area have increased in recent days.
The Asheville Police Department has announced a second arrest in the July 14 assault on Luke Hankins. A group of people surrounded Hankins, shouting homophobic slurs before one, later identified by police as Lamon Hopkins, punched him in the face. The APD has arrested Hopkins, and today announced the arrest of a juvenile on assault charges.
The Asheville Police Department has arrested Lamon Lewis Hopkins, 25, and charged him in the July 14 assault on Luke Hankins. The APD has qualified the attack as a hate crime, with a group of people shouted homophobic slurs at Hankins before Hopkins punched him in the face hard enough to cause three fractures.
Early July 14, a group of teenagers, shouting homophobic slurs, surrounded Luke Hankins in the parking lot of the Patton Avenue Ingles; one hit him hard enough to cause three fractures. The Asheville Police Department is looking for the suspects. While the APD has reported the attack as a hate crime, attacks based on sexual orientation aren’t covered under North Carolina’s hate crimes law, so no additional penalties are possible.
Local musician Juan Holladay says handing out a flier ended up getting him choked, restrained and arrested by Asheville Police Department officers. The APD claims he was belligerently interfering with an investigation. The APD’s internal affairs division is looking into the allegations.
The Asheville Police Department continues to investigate the report of a shooting earlier today in the River District. Now the APD is reporting that, while a gun was involved, no shots were fired, and the victim was instead injured in a fall.
There has been plenty of discussion recently in the Mountain Xpress about the Asheville Police Department's recent changes, allegations of corruption and mismanagement. The truth is that local police forces recruit and maintain exactly whom the system will tolerate. By system, I mean the two-class system that runs the Western world. Sit through a couple […]
The federal building in downtown Asheville was evacuated around noon today, June 21, due to a suspicious package with a “cryptic note” directed at federal law enforcement agencies. Asheville Police Department officers disrupted the package with high-powered water and a blank round. The APD has arrested Ernest McDonald, 66, in connection to the hoax.
Lt. Wally Welch talks to press outside the federal building. Photo by Jonathan Welch
The city of Asheville has put out a request for proposal seeking a consultant to help with the selection of the next chief of the Asheville Police Department. According to the proposal, the final police chief candidate will be chosen by January 2012. The expected cost of the consultant is not specified.
Respectfully, to Chris Burgher and the citizens of Asheville: The Asheville Police Department is a mixed bag [“The Police are Here to Help,” May 25 Xpress]. You never really know what you will get as a result of calling on them or them calling on you. Congratulations, Mr. Burgher, for having such a satisfying experience […]
I'm writing in response to Chris Burgher’s recent letter to the editor [“The Police Are Here to Help,” March 25 Xpress]. I will certainly give credit and gratitude to whomever it is due. I have had positive encounters with the police and thanked them for their sincere effort to help — but neither my positive […]
The Asheville Police Department and AB-Tech security are monitoring a bear sighting on the campuses of Asheville High School and AB-Tech. A lockdown of the school has ended, as the bears appear to have left the area. N.C. Wildlife Management has been notified.
