In light of the recent killing of a black man by a white officer in Asheville, as well as separate tragedies involving police in Baton Rouge, Minneapolis, and Dallas, we are highlighting an interview conducted in February with Asheville Police Chief Tammy Hooper that touched on body cameras and other high-profile shootings that were being hotly debated at the time, and still are to this day. The Asheville incident is under investigation. Police say the man was wielding an AR-15 rifle and was a threat to the officer. The victim's family has called the killing unjustified.
Original Posting from February 2016:
Tammy Hooper has been Asheville's Police Chief for a little over six months now. In a conversation with WCQS's Jeremy Loeb, Hooper discusses her time on the job so far, as well as some of the issues of the day: the national outrage over police shootings in places like Ferguson, Mo., Chicago, and Charleston, S.C., implementing body cameras for police, western North Carolina's spike in heroin overdoses, and what it's like to be the first female police chief in Asheville and what she's done to address some of the problems with the force she inherited. You can hear that full conversation above. Some highlights are featured below.
In the wake of recent high-profile police shootings of unarmed black men in places like Ferguson, Chicago, Charleston, and elsewhere, there's been growing calls for police to wear body cameras. Asheville police are on a path to implementing body cameras, joining the Buncombe County Sheriff's Department in adopting the practice. Below, Chief Hooper discusses the progress so far on body cameras.
The national shooting incidents mentioned above shocked the nation's conscience and have opened a broad discussion on race and police in this country. Those issues aren't going away any time soon. Chief Hooper shared her take on several of the videos that have been made public, and how those shootings could be affecting local communities and the local police force.
Western North Carolina has seen a spike in recent years of heroin overdoses, which mirrors a disturbing national trend. In the segment below, Chief Hooper talks about the growing problem of heroin in this community and ways to address it.
Chief Hooper made history in being named Asheville's first female police chief. She discusses what that's like in the segment below.
