Asheville: Police Arrest Seven Protesters at APD HQ Sit-In

Submitted to It’s Going Down

On July 22, protestors continued a spontaneous sit in at the Asheville Police Department that began the morning prior. The sit in was a direct response to the police shooting of Asheville native Jerry Williams, a 35 year old father of five, as well as a response to the state of black Asheville, wherein many feel that the African American community endures a different, harsher lived experience that contradicts the tourist-ready version of Asheville as a “friendly, laid-back mountain town”.

Asheville, which will soon be in the height of the tourist season, is experiencing an historic upheaval. Since the July 2 shooting of Williams by APD Sergeant Tyler Radford, a coalition of community groups and concerned citizens have organized daily protests, vigils, and events. A July 9 march starting on the Block, the formerly black business district in Asheville, saw several hundred people taking downtown streets and closing a number of intersections, shouting “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! If we don’t get it? Shut it down!”

After two weeks, the protests are not subsiding; in fact Thursday saw an escalation, with a sit-in protest wherein the foyer of the APD was occupied by protestors for 30 hours and decentralized direct actions around town such as banner drops and intentional traffic slowdowns occurred simultaneously. Protestors spent the night on makeshift beds in the lobby of the APD, who closed their front doors to all day-to-day police business.

At almost 1pm on the following day, Captain Stony Gonce addressed those sitting in. “The challenge is, this [the lobby] isn’t the space to have that [meeting]. If the community wants to come help, let’s schedule a time for you to come…but not in here.” Protestors had repeatedly requested a meeting with Chief Hooper so they could present their concerns and demands; Hooper did not respond to these requests. Gonce said the protestors were knowingly violating the law and they had until 2pm to vacate the premises. Protestor Hillary Brownsmith explained, “We’re here to help the community. You can say we’re totally safe and nonviolent, because we have been.”

At around 2:30pm, police moved on the scene, establishing a line formation outside the front of the building.  Captain Gonce requested the protestors remove the banner reading BLACK ASHEVILLE MATTERS that had been affixed across the entrance of APD for two days. Pastor Amy Cantrell explained that they could not use their hands to take that down because it would violate their beliefs. Police removed the banner and handed it, folded, to bystanders DeLores Venable and Dee Williams, two organizers with Asheville Black Lives Matter.

Pastor Amy Cantrell, one of those sitting in, addressed the other six protestors: “I believe with all my heart and soul that this is a love letter. What an honor it is that we got to do this work of love together.”

Police then moved to barricade the entrance to enclose all inside. A handful of media and photographers were inside to document the scene and negotiated their way from the arrest zone. Dan Hesse, reporter for the Mountain Xpress, was not able to exit; police arrested him.

The seven remaining protestors inside the building were cuffed, arrested and taken through the building to police transport.

Cantrell was then separated and taken to an impromptu meeting inside the building with police Chief Tammy Hooper. Present were Hooper, a sergeant and three other officers. Hooper expressed extreme frustration that protestors had created a spectacle by occupying the lobby of the APD. She demanded a meeting with Cantrell, who could not accommodate the request, being in handcuffs, without a calendar, and separated from the rest of her group who would also want to attend any meeting. For two days, protestors had been sitting in the building for the express purpose of requesting a group meeting with Hooper, who did not answer their calls or requests for a message at any time, nor come to the lobby, or send any representative to speak with them about their concerns.

Within a few hours in the afternoon, all protestors had been charged and released, with court dates in September. Family and friends of Jerry Williams, as well as other supporters, came to greet them upon their release outside the jail. Williams’ mother, Najiyyah Avery spoke to those gathered: “We are working together for one common cause; we have to stick together.”