Police destroy aid station set up for protesters in popular NC tourist town, video shows
Police slashed water bottles as they dismantled a medical station for people protesting in a popular North Carolina tourist town, video shows.
Volunteers told WLOS it happened as demonstrators gathered in downtown Asheville on Tuesday night in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck. Four officers are facing charges in connection to that incident.
In video taken on Tuesday, officers in riot gear surrounded plastic water bottles that were stomped and pierced with a knife, according to The Citizen-Times of Asheville.
David Zack, chief of the Asheville Police Department, issued a statement about the incident on Wednesday.
“Over the past three days APD has tried to eliminate objects that can be thrown at protesters and law enforcement,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “Because water bottles, in particular, have been continuously used over the last three nights, officers destroyed them. Officers also searched for potentially dangerous objects, such as explosives.”
Glenna Grant and other medical station workers didn’t plan to participate in demonstrations but hoped to help people who may have gotten hurt during the course of the protests, The Citizen-Times reported.
When an 8 pm. curfew hit, police turned their attention to the aid center, which had city approval, according to Facebook user Nathan Prentice.
“The APD targeted us first, bashing peaceful medics of all colors (with our hands in the air) into the walls, lifting us off our feet, and throwing us out into the streets,” Prentice wrote on Facebook. “They intentionally slashed every water bottle and every piece of medical supplies there, then gassed them all so that we would give people chemical burns if we tried to help them.”
Zack said his department’s actions at the medical station came after several warnings and that the area providing aid “was not permitted by the City of Asheville and was located on private property, without the permission of the property owner.”
After police came to the medical station, the area was in disarray, with drink and food containers appearing to litter the pavement, according to videos from social media user Gillian Maurer.
Mayor Esther Manheimer said the situation was a “disappointing moment in an otherwise peaceful evening,” according to a Facebook post.
“I am aware of the incident involving officers destroying the medical supplies of demonstrators, including water bottles, food, and other supplies,” she wrote. “Council has asked for an explanation of why that occurred.”
This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 11:14 AM.
