Mark and Deborah Kuhn had a run-in with the police for flying a flag upside-down as free-speech commentary about the state of the nation. A few days later, Jonas Phillips was booked for brandishing his free speech on a highway overpass. In both cases, a large number of Asheville citizens claim the police were out of line. This has rekindled efforts by Kyle Ross to start a copwatch program. Ross was allegedly mishandled, tasered and sent to jail for getting nervous when the police stopped her as she was checking on her neighbors’ dog while they were out of town.
Perhaps the good officers are bored with partnering to create holistic communities. They got into the business to fight bad guys, and now, to get any approval from our Progressive city council, they’re stuck wearing nanny aprons. Besides, there’s no point to giving crack addicts who fight, steal, and murder another joyride on the revolving door of the criminal justice system. Our venerable drug dealers, due to the nature of their trade, are entitled to sell harmful substances, block traffic, discharge firearms, and throw boxes of fried chicken in the road. The real criminals in the community are those evil developers who inadvertently chop a few too many branches off a tree, try to build on a swamp that might house a marbled salamander, or paint their buildings the same color as their logos. We’re getting more code officers to deal with them.
