Police and firefighters packed Asheville City Council chambers tonight, demanding a higher raise than the 1 percent set forth in the proposed budget. A suggested property-tax hike to pay for the increase failed 4-3, with Council members asserting that it needed more consideration.
Tag: evidence room
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LIVE: Coverage of the May 22 Asheville City Council meeting
The budget, missing evidence, and a digital billboard ban are all on Asheville City Council’s agenda tonight. Follow live Twitter dispatches here beginning at 5 p.m.
Asheville City Council preview: Missing evidence and squeezed dollars
At tonight’s Asheville City Council meeting, two major issues will get aired publicly: an update on changes to the Asheville Police Department evidence room and a hearing on the budget for the next fiscal year. Some police officers and firefighters have announced their intent to show up and demand a higher raise than the one percent in the proposed budget.
Missing evidence, concealed report
The Asheville Police Department will hire a new evidence-room manager, but an audit of absent items remains under wraps despite a mounting media push for disclosure.
APD Chief stays mum on evidence room details, looking for new manager
Speaking with media this morning, Asheville Police Department Chief William Anderson wouldn’t answer questions about the extent of missing, guns, drugs, and money from the APD evidence room, or when the public will see the unrevealed audit. The APD is looking for a new, civilian evidence room manager, something Anderson believes will hasten “the healing process.” Photo by Max Cooper.
Asheville’s local media call for DA to release evidence room audit
Today, an array of local media has united in a call for District Attorney Ron Moore to release the audit of missing guns, drugs and money from the Asheville Police Department evidence room. A joint statement declares that Moore’s actions in ignoring open records requests for months “are not in compliance with either state law or the practices of transparent government.”
Contract: City due a copy of APD evidence room audit
According to the contract for the audit of missing guns, drugs, and money from the Asheville Police Department’s evidence room, the city of Asheville should have received a copy when the audit was completed in January. The city still hasn’t received a copy, and District Attorney Ron Moore has refused to respond to open records requests for the public release of the $175,000 audit. City manager Gary Jackson says he’s satisfied with Moore’s handling of the case, and is not pressing for the release of the audit.
Contract for the audit of the APD evidence room
The contract for the audit of the Asheville Police Department’s evidence room.
Two months later, District Attorney still won’t release evidence room records
More than two months ago, Xpress requested a copy of the audit of the Asheville Police Department’s evidence room from District Attorney Ron Moore. We have received no reply. According to attorneys from the North Carolina Press Association, the audit should be public record, and Moore’s behavior violates the state’s open records law.
District Attorney Ron Moore keeping evidence room audit results under wraps
The audit of the Asheville Police Department evidence room was completed Jan. 9, but don’t expect the details to go public soon. While Buncombe County District Attorney Ron Moore has told some media that the audit showed that around 200 drug parcels might be missing, the Buncombe County District Attorney’s keeping the results secret, even from city government.
Hogan’s a hero
I am very distressed that Asheville Police Chief Bill Hogan has decided to retire. This is a clear signal to me that [city staff] does not know the quality character of this city official or the workings of the Asheville Police Department. I suggest that each of [them] become better informed. At 64 years old, […]
Break the cycle of corruption in Asheville
It appears that the employees of the entire Buncombe County criminal “justice” system are afflicted by a particular pathology that makes it virtually impossible for them to conduct themselves in an honest and legal manner. I for one am sick and tired of corrupt local police, sheriffs and district attorneys running riot in the judicial […]
Local Matters: Stand Against Rascism, APD’s Hogan Retires and County Commission updates
In this edition of Local Matters, Xpress reporters David Forbes and Jake Frankel discuss the Stand Against Racism event, the scandal-tinged timing around the retirement of APD Chief Bill Hogan, and the details of the latest Buncombe County Commission meeting.
The police have had free reign for long enough
It seems, once again, that the spotlight has fallen on one of North Carolina's law enforcement agencies, and once again the system is wrought with corruption. This time the Asheville Police Department evidence room has been caught unable to produce the 400 oxycodone pills supposedly seized in a prior arrest. Police Chief [Bill] Hogan has […]
Local Matters: City Council faces fees and APD scandal, bats face white nose syndrome
In this week’s Local Matters podcast, Xpress News Editor Margaret Williams talks to news reporter David Forbes about the recent controversy-packed Asheville City Council meeting, and with environmental reporter Susan Andrew about a sickness that threatens the WNC bat population.
DA blasts APD evidence room handling, Council approves $175,000 audit
It was a tense scene last night during the Asheville City Council meeting as District Attorney Ron Moore criticized the leadership of the Asheville Police Department for the handling of its evidence room. APD Chief Bill Hogan, meanwhile, said the problems were due to one individual who “betrayed the trust.” Council approved $175,000 to conduct a full audit.
SBI seals APD evidence room, investigating missing drugs ***UPDATED 2:13 p.m. Thursday***
The State Bureau of Investigation has sealed, and is investigating, the Asheville Police Department property room due to 397 missing tablets of Oxycodone. The SBI claims the investigation was requested by the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office, while the APD claims the investigation began internally. Records obtained by Xpress reveal that the APD’s longtime evidence manager was placed under investigative suspension before his resignation earlier this year, though an APD official says “it’s difficult to speculate” if that’s related to the investigation.