Two minutes before Asheville City Council’s Tuesday meeting was scheduled to begin, City Clerk Maggie Burleson addressed a capacity crowd inside the Council Chamber. At her news that “Item D” would be removed from Council’s agenda, a whoop of cathartic exultation arose from those assembled.
The community members had gathered to share their concerns about the city accepting a $1.14 million federal award for the Asheville Police Department. Chuck Edwards, the Republican who represents Asheville in the U.S. House, had earmarked the money at APD’s request to help the department create a “real-time intelligence center.”
That technology, similar to resources already employed by the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, would allow APD to access live footage from surveillance cameras across the city. “By providing personnel with the ability to collect, analyze, and disseminate real-time information to responding officers, the RTIC will enhance situational awareness and support timely, informed, and effective responses,” city staff wrote in a report about the award…