The committee met remotely at 1:00 p.m., moved from 11:00 a.m., with chair Bo Hess, Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley and Sheneika Smith (city’s video, 73 minutes). The agenda carried no RTIC, plate-reader or audit item (The Committee). Quotes below are from a machine transcript of the video, checked against a second, larger transcription for the public comment; each links its timestamp. Ums and repeated words are removed and nothing else is changed. This site also holds the audio.
The agenda as held
- The July 29 minutes, approved 3 to 0.
- After-action reports on the G20 finance ministerial and the PGA Tour event (0:04:14, resumed 1:06:27).
- Gun violence reduction strategies and crime data, from Interim Chief Jackie Stepp and Deputy Chief Sean Aardema (0:14:07).
- The West Asheville homelessness response: the city’s homeless strategy division, Safe Shelter’s street outreach team, and AFD’s REST team (0:29:36).
- Public comment, one caller (1:09:07).
No motion was made on any presentation.
Public comment: the Axon quote and the review
Patrick Conant, of West Asheville, was the only caller. He thanked Safe Shelter and AFD’s REST team, then turned to the Axon contract.
- The request: “On August 17th, I submitted a public records request for documents behind the Axon contract” (1:10:08). “The most important of those documents is Axon’s quote. It’s the only record that shows what the city actually bought” (1:10:25).
- His account of the response: “The city denied that part of my request and said the quote is a trade secret” (1:10:34). Of the statute, which says such records “shall not be required to be disclosed”: “It permits withholding, but it doesn’t require it” (1:10:46).
- Durham, he said, published a nearly identical Axon quote, with every line item priced, in June, before its council voted. Durham’s agreement and executed quote were attached to its June 1, 2026 council agenda (What Axon contracts do).
- “I’ve asked council in fact three times if the city will at least release the quote if the price is redacted, and I still haven’t received a yes or no” (1:11:17).
- On the review council ordered Aug 25 (Resolution 26-180, Section 5): “The resolution sets no timeline and doesn’t outline any way for the public to follow along or weigh in on the process” (1:11:43).
His two asks: that the committee direct staff to publish the Axon quote, with prices redacted if the city chooses, and that it “direct the city manager to share more information about that process and to provide opportunities for the public to weigh in” (1:11:59).
No committee member or staff member responded to either ask. The chair asked whether anyone else was in the queue (1:12:31), thanked the presenters, and adjourned (1:13:28).
Drones at the G20 and the PGA Tour event
At the G20, APD’s drone unit supported the temporary flight restriction over the summit “through the entirety of the event 24-7,” and “they were able to locate nine pilots who [intruded] onto the temporary flight restriction with drones and were able to address those individually” (0:09:00). More than 44 agencies and organizations took part. Staff at on-site posts encountered four people making unauthorized entry; off-site gatherings were described as peaceful.
At the PGA Tour event, held in the county, APD staffed parking at Biltmore Park and traffic on Long Shoals Road. “Our drone unit provided aerial coverage for the event and outer security as requested by the PGA. And we also provided airspace monitoring to detect unauthorized flights from other drones” (1:07:37). The drone unit also sent a live feed to responders at a small-plane crash near the airport; no one was hurt.
The city’s page says APD’s drones “are not used for continuous, routine, or random surveillance of the general public” and states no retention period (the city’s page, annotated). The presentation did not say what the drones recorded, how long it is kept, or what the airspace monitoring uses.
Juvenile data shared with DJJ and the courts
Deputy Chief Aardema described a proposal to the Department of Juvenile Justice “on really an initiative that’s data-driven and intelligence-led” (0:19:15). He said juveniles are involved in about 12 to 15 percent of violent incidents citywide. He and the chief met the week before with DJJ leadership, the family court judges and the chief district court judge. APD would give them data to inform placement decisions and no-contact conditions, including home confinement on an ankle monitor, to reduce retaliation. What can legally be shared was still being worked out (0:20:39). No document was presented.
Crime figures presented
- Violent crime through Aug 31: “33% below the four year historical average” of 2021 to 2024, “the lowest level in over five years” (0:25:08). Firearm homicides: four in 2025 and four in 2026 to date, against a four-year average of seven.
- In Housing Authority neighborhoods, measured against the five-year average: overall incidents down 22 percent, violent incidents down 38 percent, domestic violence down 32 percent. Housing Authority-funded overtime and a relaunched housing unit provide “hot spot” patrols there.
- The chief credited “rapid ballistic forensics” and FBI and ATF agents embedded in APD since the Biltmore Avenue shooting.
Earlier figures given to this committee are on The Committee.
What to watch next
- The quote. Whether the city releases Q-808220-46198AS, redacted or whole, or answers the Aug 17 request (Asking About the RTIC, manager ask 1; Promise Tracker, row 12).
- The review. Whether Resolution 26-180’s review gets a schedule, a reviewer, or a place on this committee’s agenda.
- The next meeting. Not yet confirmed. The first Policy 1703 audit window closes about October.
Related: The Committee · Asking About the RTIC · The Real-Time Intelligence Center · The Axon Contract as Signed · Bo Hess
Region: Asheville · Last verified: September 24, 2026