From Staff Reports

Issues involving the Asheville Police Department in general, and its embattled Police Chief William Anderson in particular, continue to rock this city.

A majority of City Council came out in support of the chief in late October, following publication of a petition by 44 active-duty city police officers — about a fourth of the rank-and-file policemen — calling for “a change in administration.” The petition expressed a no-confidence vote in Anderson’s operation of the department — and it called for his removal.

Other grievances cited in the petition included increased   forced overtime, staff shortages and chronic low morale.

The four-page petition was delivered on Oct. 16 to City Manager Gary Jackson, who is Anderson’s direct superior.

Jackson promptly released the following statement:

“We value the views of all of our officers and Asheville citizens. As we move forward with implementing the recently adopted strategic plan for the future of the Asheville Police Department, we intend to monitor closely the progress of the department. We will give the input of the petitioners’ thoughtful consideration within that process. Progress reports will be shared with citizens, police personnel and media as they become available.”

Councilman Cecil Bothwell, who serves on the city’s Public Safety Committee, expressed support for Anderson — and alleged that criticism of the chief was rooted in racism.

Also expressing concern that racism may be fueling the APD rift was the Rev. Keith Ogden, president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Asheville & Buncombe County. Ogden said he had received a letter from “a group of concerned citizens” about the racism issue.

The racial makeup of the group of officers who signed the petition was not made public, but sources have said that black officers were among the petitioners.

Mayor Esther Manheimer told the news media, “I continue to have confidence in Chief William Anderson,” although she added,” I also take seriously the concerns raised by the men and women of our police force.” Council members Chris Pelly and Gwen Wister joined Manheimer in backing Anderson, but Vice Mayor Marc Hunt declined to take a position, noting that expressing his opinion would make it more difficult for Jackson to perform his duties.

Also, the mayor received a letter from the Mountain Chapter of the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association accusing Anderson of failing to perform his duties.

“We are respectfully requesting the city council to use their lawful authority to address and resolve these very serious allegations … Our police officers and our citizens deserve nothing less,” chapter President Brandon McGaha stated in the letter.

What’s more, Rep. Tim Moffitt, R-Arden, charged that the APD is infected with “a cancer of corruption” and asked state Attorney General Roy Hunt to investigate the department’s inner workings, regarding “mismanagement, leadership problems and possible corruption.”

In a letter dated Oct. 17, Moffitt asserted that, “for far too long, elected officials and others have looked the other way while the cancer of corruption has clearly grown within the Asheville Police Department.” Moffitt added that employees of the APD “deserve fair treatment and due process” by the attorney general’s office.

The petition came on the heels of an investigation by WLOS Channel 13 News exposing problems that included an officer shortage, morale issues and expired radar guns. According to the report, although only 44 officers signed the petition, “twice that number have endorsed it, but will not add their signatures for fear of retaliation.”

The APD has been beset with problems for a while. Anderson took over the department in January 2012 after the retirement of former Chief Bill Hogan, who left in May 2011 under a cloud of controversy surrounding the APD’s mishandling of evidence, prompting an investigation by Buncombe County District Attorney Ron Moore and the State Bureau of Investigation.

Anderson issued a departmental memo recently, urging his unit members to concentrate on their jobs — and not to be distracted by negative news media coverage.

“Once again,” he said, “APD is in the news for something other than the good work we do on a daily basis... Let’s keep it real and put things in perspective.

“As I have said before, the most important thing for all of us is, ‘Do your job,’” he said “That’s what we do and that is how we roll.”

Anderson and the mayor both called attention to a “strategic plan,” adopted in July, correcting internal problems and improving performance at APD and indicated the plan is going forward. Among improvements called for under the plan are new smartphones for all officers and the phasing in of new patrol cruisers, the chief noted.

The plan, Anderson said, also calls for the hiring of a new public information officer, possibly a civilian. The public information post is now held by Sgt. Dave Romick. The strategic plan offers no explanation for replacing the public liaison officer.

The presentation of the officers’ petition came hard on the heels of the latest APD setback — that defective radar equipment used by city officers had been responsible for the improper issuance of some 250 speeding tickets during the past year. The radar units used in those citations had not been recalibrated within the required maintenance time, reports showed.

As a result, Moore, the district attorney, said, he has been forced to suspend further prosecution of speeding tickets until his office “gets some answers.”

Conversely, Bothwell, one of Anderson’s most steadfast supporters, stated in a press release, “While local media have been quick to report recent allegations concerning the Asheville Police Department, it seems worthwhile to take a closer look at possible motives for leaks, allegations and innuendo that have appeared as ‘news.’ Perhaps there is a bigger story here going unreported.

“Lt. Mark Byrd went to the press concerning uncalibrated radar guns AFTER the guns had been pulled from service and calibrated. Byrd is a registered Republican.

“A group of APD officers were encouraged to sign an open letter calling for changes in department administrative policies. Republican critics have characterized the letter as calling for Chief Anderson’s dismissal and alleging corruption in the department. That is factually incorrect, nowhere in the letter are those issues mentioned.”

Further, Bothwell asserted, “Rep. Tim Moffitt, R-Buncombe, wrote a damning and fraudulent letter to N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper asking for an investigation of the APD. Moffitt knows full well that his party had removed the SBI from Cooper’s office. If Moffitt had actually wanted an investigation, he would have gone to the proper authorities. What he obviously wanted was positive publicity in advance of the Nov. 4 election, a race in which he has consistently trailed in the polls..

“Lt. William Wilke went to the press concerning a personnel grievance he had filed with the Department of Labor. However, as noted in a press release from the City of Asheville, and contrary to Wilke’s allegations, there was in fact NO DISCIPLINARY ACTION TAKEN concerning Wilke’s absence for Army Reserve training. Nor was there any notice attached to his personnel file. What occurred is that he was reminded that APD policy required that he identify another lieutenant to cover his shift. He failed to do that. The DoL presumably accepted his version of the facts when it sent a notice of violation to the city and ordered the city to remove the nonexistent reprimand from his file. Wilke was the Republican candidate for sheriff in Haywood County in 2010,” Bothwell noted.