Dear Mrs.

Campbell,

Today we write you with heavy hearts, but also with minds set clearly on the pursuit of justice
and hands willing and able to continue the hard work of reform that our constituents have
taken to the streets to demand. In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, yet another in a
seemingly endless line of tragic deaths of black people at the hands of police, the Asheville
community came together to grieve collectively. During these First Amendment protected
demonstrations, the Asheville Police Department was once again at the center of an incident
that has put our city in the national spotlight for the behavior of our police department.

Of course, we are speaking about the tear-gassing of peaceful protestors and the destruction of
a medic tent that occurred on June 2nd. These actions have been roundly condemned, and
resulted in a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union warning that “These measures are
clearly disproportionate and unreasonable, and threaten to chill the speech of people who wish
to be heard on a matter of immense public concern.” Beyond a simple public relations disaster,
these actions strike at the heart of the lack of trust that exists between the public and our
police department. A trust that has not even been fully repaired after the horrible beating,
choking, and tazing of Mr. Johnnie Rush.

In an effort to separate fact from fiction, and to have a clear understanding of the situation and
circumstances that led up to this incident, so as to prevent a future episode of this nature; as
duly elected members of Asheville City Council representing a majority of the Public Safety
Committee and under the authority granted to us by Section 28 of the Charter of the City of
Asheville “Investigations of Departments and Offices”, we are calling upon you in your role as
City Manager to facilitate an investigation into this matter. We respectfully request that you
return to us in a report to be presented to full Council the following factual information:

1. A compete summary and overview of the Asheville Police Department’s “operational

plan” with regards to this protest including an understanding of APD’s “rules of
engagement” as they relate to the use of less-than-lethal measures including tear gas,
pepper spray, and rubber bullets / pepper balls.

2. A timeline and an overview summary of any and all conversations held between the
Asheville Police Department and City Manager and City Attorney’s office regarding the
protocols and tactics around the use of force as applied to these protests.

3. The name and rank of the officer who issued the order to destroy the medic tent, and
the names of all of the officers who participated in said destruction.

Additionally, we in our legally approved capacity as members of Asheville City Council are
requesting the ability to review body camera footage that was captured by APD officers body
cameras during the events in question. We believe that we have full authority to request this
investigation, and ask in an effort to move forward that the collection of these facts be
expedited so as to be presented at the next full meeting of Asheville City Council.