Digging Deeper: Long-Form Journalism, Investigations, and EnterpriseGrief still raw for family of Asheville man shot by police
ASHEVILLE – Najiyyah Avery last spoke with her youngest son during the early morning hours of the first Saturday in July. While most people were still sleeping, Jai Lateef Solveig Williams was at work. He had sneaked away momentarily from his job at Skyland Distributing Company, a wholesale beer and wine distributor with headquarters in Asheville, to call his mother and tell her hello. The sun had just started to rise, and Williams, who normally had Saturday off, had come in for the midnight shift on the holiday weekend to earn extra cash, his mother said. His 36th birthday was just around the corner. Avery, 60, answered her phone around 6:30 a.m. on July 2. Her son always made her smile, and although she could have talked with him longer, she told Williams to go back to work and call her again when his shift was over. The next phone call Avery said she got about “Lil' Jerry,” the nickname given to Williams as a child, was from a friend. It was just 12 hours after her son called her from the warehouse floor. “They were telling me he had been executed by some police officer,” she recalled in an interview nearly five months later. “We’re still grieving. You know, I wake up every day and I’m crying." Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Hope for peace emerges after deadly time in Deaverview
June 2017, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE – Elana Jacklick sometimes stands outside her back door and dreams of a better life. This is the spot she shows off when guests come to her home in Deaverview Apartments. Just beyond lines of laundry drying in the sun, Jacklick has a view of a swing set and a slide. Before gunfire forced them inside last year, the playground was her family's escape, a reprieve from the dimly lit rooms where she and her six children live. On sunny days, Jacklick would lay a blanket on the grass and prepare a barbecue for a family picnic. Her kids, all under 10, love the swings and slide so much they would pick up litter nearby. The single mother says she hasn’t been able to give her children much, but securing a spot in Deaverview Apartments ensured the family a roof over their heads when they had nowhere else to go. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Shooting derails efforts to build trust
Officer involved shooting sets back efforts to build trust July 2016, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE - More than a year ago, residents of Asheville's subsidized housing developments stood in front of the Citizens Police Advisory Committee and said they needed help. Violence and gunshots plagued their neighborhoods, yet their children did not feel safe around police officers. On Wednesday, many of those same residents stood in front of the same committee and said not much had changed, despite continual and seemingly countless grassroots, faith-based and public efforts to improve the community's trust of law-enforcement. "What do you do when you can't call the police for help?" asked Sir Charles Gardner, president of the Residents Council of Asheville Housing Authority who lives in Pisgah View Apartments and now serves on the CPAC committee. "We are scared of the police probably more than we are scared of the people in our community," he said. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Race, poverty create uneasy police relationships in subsidized housing
ASHEVILLE – It's 5:30 on a Friday evening at Hillcrest Apartments, a subsidized housing community just west of downtown. People are coming home from work. Two boys toss a football back and forth. Another rides his bike, still equipped with training wheels, his face barely visible underneath a bright red helmet. A mother tosses her baby up in the air. Thousands of people will pass by this development everyday as they drive across the Jeff Bowen Bridge. For the motorists, their view will be of a few backyards, even though 544 people live in Hillcrest. Few visitors will have a real feel for the community — other than the dozen or so police officers who have been given the job of getting to know the people of Hillcrest and the residents of Asheville's other subsidized housing developments. Police see signs of progress in their work so far. Some residents disagree, creating the kind of underlying tensions surrounding race, poverty, access and power that have engulfed entire communities across the U.S. — from Ferguson to Baltimore. "We're more afraid of the police than the people they are trying to protect us from," Hillcrest resident Bella Jackson said as she sat with her husband on their front porch last week. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com |
Following the Story: Daily News and ReportsCPAC raises louder, more diverse voices
January 2017, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE - Amid concerns over police-community relationships, a city committee intended to help police strengthen ties to the public will host its first meeting of the new year Wednesday at a new time and location members hope will be more convenient for residents. The event also will mark the first meeting of the Citizens Police Advisory Committee, often referred to as CPAC, since Buncombe County's district attorney announced the July 2 fatal police shooting of Jai "Jerry" Williams was justified. It also comes on the heels of the release of a new draft use-of-force policy put forth by the Asheville Police Department in December. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Timeline of Jerry Williams shooting and aftermath
December 2016, The Citizen-Times of Asheville Jai Lateef Solveig Williams, 35, was shot and killed by Asheville police Sgt. Tyler Radford on July 2 at Deaverview Apartments, a subsidized housing complex in West Asheville. The case sparked questions over whether a white officer used excessive force in shooting Williams, who was black. It also has led to a series of rallies and meetings in Asheville intended to address fears that race and poverty played a role. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Deaverview shooting victim in critical condition
December 2016, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE - A man who was shot at Deaverview Apartments Saturday night remains in critical condition. Asheville police responded to a call for service at 11:08 p.m. Dec. 10, the department reported in a statement to the media Monday. Officers found Keawe K. Gacusana, 26, inside apartment 9B with several wounds to his chest area. The shooting occurred during some type of party in the West Asheville housing development, police report. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Hillcrest security video footage released
September 2016, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE – Newly released video showing an officer push a 16-year-old girl to the ground provides more detail on a confrontation that has triggered questions about police use of force. The video recorded on a security camera at Hillcrest Apartments shows the struggle from a different and more telling angle than a bystander video that first raised questions over whether police used excessive force in making an arrest. The 13-minute video obtained by the Citizen-Times from the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville shows the 15-second altercation from above, an angle that betters displays the force with which the teen was knocked to the pavement. In the video, she is shown landing on her back several feet from where the officer makes contact. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Activists question police after video of girl's arrest
September 2016, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE - Hillcrest resident Olufemi Lewis stood in front of a small crowd and asked the question other parents were thinking: What if that was my daughter? "When I saw the video, I couldn’t help but think about my own girl," she said, holding back tears. "I live in that neighborhood. I have been a resident for 13 years. What can you all tell me to be able to make me feel safe?" The answer from police at the Tuesday night gathering with about 30 faith leaders and activists at First Congregational United Church of Christ was to ask for time to thoroughly sort through what led to the confrontation between an officer and a 16-year-old girl. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Police defend citation of protesters in wake of shooting
Tensions were high at a meeting of the Citizens Police Advisory Committee August 2016, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE – Officers have wrapped up efforts to search Facebook and YouTube for evidence of rowdy demonstrators protesting a fatal police shooting. But work delivering citations to people police identified online will continue over the next few weeks, police Chief Tammy Hooper said Thursday. "I do not consider this a high priority for APD, but we will continue to attempt to serve the remaining warrants as we can,” Hooper said. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Chief addresses community concerns in wake of shooting
Use of force, body cameras and policing in subsidized housing discussed at meeting July 2016, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE – Police Chief Tammy Hooper responded to community concerns Wednesday in the wake of an officer involved shooting that left a black man dead. Hooper spoke to residents at the Citizens Police Advisory Committee meeting. Often called CPAC, the group serves as a liaison between police and the community. It includes representatives from city council, the Housing Authority, the police and the general public. The chief of police is a nonvoting member. “We can always improve how we handle situations," Hooper told the packed conference room. "The facts are what they are, but we can always improve.” Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Police to wear body cameras in subsidized housing
June 2016, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE - Local police plan to wear body cameras as they patrol subsidized housing next month. Officers with the Asheville Police Department will pilot the Body Worn Camera program for 30 days starting July 4. Police made the announcement through the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville, the Residents Council of the Asheville Housing Authority and the Racial Justice Coalition on Wednesday. "We didn't want people in the public housing communities to be surprised by the appearance of cameras," said Christina Hallingse, spokeswoman for the Asheville Police Department. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Housing gets voice on police advisory committee
June 2015, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE – Residents of subsidized housing now have a voice on the Citizens Police Advisory Committee. Keith De Blasio, 47, of Hillcrest, joined the 13-member group for his first meeting as a committee member Tuesday. Often called CPAC, the committee is set up to mediate conflict and advocate for ways to improve relationships between law enforcement and the community. It includes representatives from the general public, City Council, the Community Relations Council, Asheville Police Department and the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville. Its membership came under criticism in March when local activists and residents of subsidized housing left a meeting upset, saying their opinions weren't listened to and they weren't being treated with respect. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Activists seek more voices on policing
April 2015, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE – Members of the city's subsidized housing neighborhoods have started a petition calling for better representation on the Citizens Police Advisory Committee. Often called CPAC, the 13-member group, which includes representatives from the general public, City Council, the Community Relations Council, Asheville Police Department and the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville, is set up to mediate conflict and advocate for ways to improve relationships between law enforcement and the community. Its membership came under criticism last month when local activists and residents of subsidized housing left a meeting upset, saying their opinions weren't listened to and they weren't being treated with respect. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. Residents question APD's community policing efforts
March 2015, The Citizen-Times of Asheville ASHEVILLE – Minister James Lee and residents of area public housing communities walked out of a Citizen's Police Advisory Committee meeting Wednesday evening, saying their opinions weren't being listened to and they weren't being treated with respect. Lee, of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, has been pushing for improved relations between minority communities and police for months. He and about eight others went to the meeting to talk about ways residents of subsidized housing can be more involved in decision making as it relates to community policing. The group was specifically interested in how funding is allocated to support Asheville Police Department's public housing unit. A grant that covers the cost of half the unit will end in May. Residents wanted to know how and if the city will continue its funding and if they will be involved in the financing discussions. Continue reading here at Citizen-Times.com. |