During a June 2, 2020 protest against police brutality and racial injustice in Asheville, North Carolina, police in riot gear destroyed a medic tent operated by an “all-volunteer team of doctors, certified nurses, EMTs, military combat medics, and citizens with CPR and first-aid certifications.” According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, the team “had a verbal agreement with APD to be present, even after curfew.” Nevertheless, a scene captured by witnesses minutes after the curfew began showed police forcibly removing volunteers, crushing and emptying water bottles, and destroying the tent: One volunteer said, “We were not protesting. We were not agitating. We had claimed that space. We had set up a triage area in case of any injuries. We had eyewash, sutures, EMT, doctors, EMS workers. They came in full riot gear, hit us with shields, threw several people to the ground. We were grabbed, thrown, shouted at, screamed at, treated as criminals. No one resisted.” Videos of the tent’s destruction went viral, and public outrage followed. The Asheville Police Department’s initial statement from Chief David Zack on June 3, 2020, confirmed that the incident took place, but defended the department’s actions, largely placing blame for the incident on the medical volunteers: As the Chief of Police I understand the concern has been raised over the destruction of water, food, and medical supplies. The Asheville Police Department (APD) would always prefer confiscation over destruction. We apologize for not being able to confiscate these supplies last night. Over the past three days APD has tried to eliminate objects that can be thrown at protesters and law enforcement. 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. The supply station was not permitted by the City of Asheville and was located on private property, without the permission of the property owner. The actions involving the supply station occurred following multiple warnings, and after the 8 p.m. city-wide curfew. But this statement from the chief only exacerbated tensions in Asheville.
Asheville police officers destroyed a medic tent and its supplies while enforcing a curfew during a protest against police brutality.