A proposed Asheville Police Department policy hashed out with substantial citizen input could mark a change in the way officers handle volatile situations, proponents say. If the policy is adopted as expected, officers will have to explain how they approached the situation and what they did to try to calm things down before resorting to […]
No charges will be filed against Asheville Police Department Sgt. Tyler Radford for shooting and killing local man Jai Lateef Solveig (Jerry) Williams. Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams says an investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation has revealed that Radford acted lawfully and justifiably in self defense.
The most pivotal law enforcement figure in Asheville is relative newcomer Tammy Hooper, chief of the city’s police department. Xpress recently sat down with Hooper for an extended interview about her role as leader, the state of the department and police-community relations.
Mayor Esther Manheimer delivered her State of Asheville speech on Tuesday, Oct. 4. It stressed the need for the city to foster equity before ultimately advocating for approval of $74 million in bond referendums to achieve equity goals.
The task of establishing and/or re-establishing trust between vulnerable communities — especially people of color — and the Asheville Police Department will be a challenging one. And especially in the wake of controversial police use of force over the summer, there is vocal criticism of the department. But the way Chief Tammy Hooper sees it, the APD must rise to that challenge.
“I joined the circle because parents of color have to worry about their kids encountering the wrong officer in a way my parents never did.”
While July was marked by a series of protests, rallies and demands for changes to the APD’s approach to policing in the city’s marginalized communities — especially its 11 public housing neighborhoods — August saw a shift in tone, with the outline of a collaborative process arising out of discussions among the APD, City Council and a wide range of community groups convened by the Racial Justice Coalition.
In an unusually philosophical discussion of items in Council’s consent agenda, the elected board took on the war on drugs and the city’s role in promoting — or not — living wages through its agreements with private contractors.
” I would say the repeated, almost daily, killing of unarmed and nonviolent black men, boys, women and girls is absolutely heartbreaking, soul-destroying and completely depressing.”
Speaking on behalf of the family of Jerry Williams, who was fatally shot by an Asheville police officer on July 2, civil rights activist John Barnett of Charlotte called today for an end to the excessive force that he said often results in the deaths of black men at the hands of police.
Community members, family members of Jai Lateef Solveig Williams and supporters of Asheville Black Lives Matter gathered in front of the Buncombe County Courthouse at Pack Square Park on Tuesday, July 5 to protest Williams’ shooting death on July 2 by an Asheville Police officer.
Asheville City Council approved a public visioning process to solicit broad community input on the future use of city-owned property across from the U.S. Cellular Center and the Basilica of St. Lawrence. Council also voted to demolish a city-owned building adjacent to the area at 33-35 Page Avenue. The building was the headquarters of the Asheville Sister Cities organization before the structure was condemned in November last year.
While the theme is familiar — what to do with city-owned property facing the Basilica of St. Lawrence and the U.S. Cellular Center? — the current proposal has a twist: let the whole community weigh in on the future of a beloved, yet contentious, space.
The Asheville Police Department trails the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office in rolling out police body cameras — but the city is trying to catch up. Police Chief Tammy Hooper outlined a draft policy for the cameras at a recent panel discussion, and says the first cameras will be deployed by summer. We look into what needs to happen between now and then to make that schedule happen.
