ASHEVILLE, N.C. – This year was marked by pleas for social justice and cries for equity. In Asheville, as voices were being heard, the law enforcement community was grappling with “what's next."

What You Need To Know

  • Asheville cut its police budget by 3%.

  • Original discussions have the budget being cut 50%.

  • Morale has been an issue, and many officers have left.

Following the death of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement officers last spring, protests erupted across the country. Many of those protests then turned to riots and clashes with law enforcement. A rallying cry often heard during this was to “defund the police." The city of Asheville was listening.

“I know when a lot of people hear defund the police, that scares them,” Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer says. “That makes them feel like they are going to be unsafe, and their community is going to be unsafe, and that is not the goal. The goal here is really to try to look at a better way to try to provide this service to the community."

Asheville created a 30/60/90 plan aimed at working toward social justice and racial equity.

In the 60 day timeframe, discussions were to begin on defunding the police by 50%. Those talks did happen, but at a smaller scale. The budget the city approved for next year reduces police funding by just 3%.

“We don't know what the end will look like but we do know where we need to start,” says Manheimer. “How are we dealing with calls that are really dealing with mental health crisis? How are we dealing with calls that really deal with substance abuse or homelessness? Or domestic violence?”

From the law enforcement perspective, 2020 has been a challenging year. In Asheville, dozens of officers chose to leave their job.

“And they're losing senior people,” says Brandon McGaha, an N.C. Police Benevolent Association staff representative. “They are not just losing one or two year officers, they are losing sergeants, lieutenants and folks who are really on the street who are the experience.”

Much of the exodus this year can be traced back to the protests in Asheville and the general negativity toward their profession.

“It really affects the morale,” says McGaha. “It's hard for the officers to get up and go out and put themselves out there. Because you know officers put themselves out there emotionally.”

Like many communities who are grappling with calls to defund the police, Asheville is still figuring out what that means. And for their part, law enforcement says they agree with relieving them of some responsibilities, but they say they still want support for the work they continue to do.

“Improve staffing, improve the appearance of support toward the officers is a good place to start,” says McGaha.