Latest / APD Pod Squad / Episode 1; Chief Mike Lamb, Lt Josh Meindl, Capt Jonathan Brown, and Capt Brandon Moore

Transcript

Episode 1; Chief Mike Lamb, Lt Josh Meindl, Capt Jonathan Brown, and Capt Brandon Moore · APD Pod Squad

0:00
SPEAKER_03: This is the APD Pod Squad.
0:04
SPEAKER_03: My name is Rick Rice.
0:06
SPEAKER_03: I'm the public information officer for the Asheville Police Department.
0:09
SPEAKER_03: Although that is a relatively new title for me, I've only been with the APD about five months after spending the last 30 years on the radio.
0:17
SPEAKER_03: Some of you may know that.
0:18
SPEAKER_03: A lot of those were right here in Asheville.
0:21
SPEAKER_03: So, quick history: I moved here from Fayetteville, North Carolina in February of 1999, after living and working in Evansville, Indiana, Joplin, Missouri, and Clearfield, Pennsylvania.
0:32
SPEAKER_03: Grew up in Buffalo, New York, go Bills.
0:35
SPEAKER_03: Went to college at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania.
0:38
SPEAKER_03: But enough about me.
0:39
SPEAKER_03: This is the APD Pod Squad Podcast.
0:43
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for tuning in, recording from the Palacious Studios in Station 13.
0:49
SPEAKER_03: So, what is the APD Pod Squad?
0:52
SPEAKER_03: Well, we're gonna really get to know the men and women behind the badge, dig deep into some cold cases, let you know about some of the fun ways to engage with officers like coffee with a cop, Citizens Police Academy, and chess with a cop.
1:04
SPEAKER_03: Also, if you've got a question about something, anything at all, it's been nagging you for the longest time.
1:10
SPEAKER_03: Here's your chance to ask the chief, the chief of police himself.
1:15
SPEAKER_03: You can call 250-8800 and leave a voicemail.
1:18
SPEAKER_03: Keep in mind we will be using those questions, those voicemails, those messages left as part of the podcast.
1:25
SPEAKER_03: So if you don't want to hear your voice as part of it, well then you can email us APD podcastfeedback at ashevillenc.gov, and then we'll just read it on your behalf.
1:38
SPEAKER_03: And on today's inaugural episode of the APD Pod Squad, we'll be talking with several key members of the leadership team at the Asheville Police Department, including Captain Brandon Moore, Captain Jonathan Brown, and Lieutenant Josh Mindel.
1:51
SPEAKER_03: Also, the chief of police, Mike Lamb, who leads things off.
1:56
SPEAKER_03: Welcome, Chief.
1:56
SPEAKER_03: Thank you, Rick.
1:57
SPEAKER_03: I appreciate it.
1:57
SPEAKER_03: Good morning.
1:58
SPEAKER_03: This is exciting.
1:59
SPEAKER_03: The first episode of the APD Pod Squad.
2:02
SPEAKER_03: And people have asked me this question.
2:04
SPEAKER_03: Maybe you can answer it.
2:05
SPEAKER_03: Whose idea was this?
2:07
SPEAKER_03: Oh gosh.
2:08
SPEAKER_07: Um, I believe it was Chief Zach, actually, initially, whenever we discussed it, um, we we talked about all the different types of cases we could talk about and and you being perfect for the role.
2:21
SPEAKER_03: I remember the very first conversation we had back in, I guess it would have been December, maybe.
2:26
SPEAKER_03: Uh it it came up as part of you know that conversation.
2:29
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
2:29
SPEAKER_03: Uh and so I'm like, yeah, oh yeah, I could definitely pull that off.
2:32
SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah.
2:32
SPEAKER_03: Uh, you know, so that that that fit well.
2:34
SPEAKER_03: I don't know if it helped me get the job or something else, but I'm grateful.
2:37
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
2:37
SPEAKER_03: Uh so maybe it was Chief Zach.
2:40
SPEAKER_03: I know he was kind of an out of the box thinker in some ways.
2:43
SPEAKER_07: Yes.
2:43
SPEAKER_07: And he the more we talked about it and mentioned mentioned it to other people, the more they thought, yeah, that would be a great idea because we have some great stories to tell uh through investigations and just, you know, a lot of the stuff that officers see.
2:56
SPEAKER_07: Um, it just makes for really interesting content.
2:59
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and that's what we're going to be doing.
3:00
SPEAKER_03: We're going to be telling the story of the Asheville police in many different ways.
3:04
SPEAKER_03: So featuring officers and cold cases and community engagement and speaking with so many in our department and also an opportunity for the people of Asheville to, in a way, speak directly to you and ask questions with the Ask the Chief segment.
3:21
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
3:21
SPEAKER_03: So that's kind of exciting.
3:22
SPEAKER_03: I mean, people think, oh, access to the chief, oh, it's got to be difficult.
3:26
SPEAKER_03: But no, we're making it really easy.
3:28
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
3:28
SPEAKER_07: You know, and we we push a lot of content out, but you know, it's just so one-sided.
3:34
SPEAKER_07: So this is really gives the uh folks in Asheville an opportunity to ask specific questions, um, and then, you know, have had take the time to listen and and hear what the answers are.
3:45
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and so there's two ways that they can ask a question.
3:48
SPEAKER_03: So we're gonna give them a phone number and they can call and leave a message.
3:52
SPEAKER_03: Now we're gonna give them a disclaimer with that because we're gonna use your voice as part of this show.
3:57
SPEAKER_03: So if you're the bashful sort, you might not want to do that method.
4:01
SPEAKER_03: But the phone number is of course 828-250-8800.
4:05
SPEAKER_03: So hopefully you can remember that.
4:06
SPEAKER_03: We tried to make it as easy as possible.
4:07
SPEAKER_03: 250-8800 is the phone number, and you can call it right now if you want, and leave a message.
4:13
SPEAKER_03: Uh so he's the chief's not going to pick up the phone, like right when you call that.
4:17
SPEAKER_03: But you can leave a message and then we'll incorporate that, and then you can answer those questions.
4:21
SPEAKER_03: So that's one way to do it.
4:22
SPEAKER_03: The other is email, right?
4:24
SPEAKER_03: So apd podcastfeedback at ashevillenc.gov.
4:29
SPEAKER_03: APD Podcastfeedback, all one word at Ashevillenc.gov.
4:34
SPEAKER_03: So those are active right now.
4:36
SPEAKER_03: You can go ahead and ask the chief, make a phone call, leave a message, send us an email, and then the next episode, we will respond to those with your answers.
4:45
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, definitely.
4:46
SPEAKER_03: Looking forward to it.
4:47
SPEAKER_03: And since we don't have any questions from the citizenry today, I'll ask you a couple.
4:51
SPEAKER_03: Sounds good.
4:51
SPEAKER_03: Okay, because so you've been with the Asheville Police Department for 26 years now, going on 27, is that right?
4:58
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
4:58
SPEAKER_03: So in February, it'll be 27 years.
5:00
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
5:01
SPEAKER_03: So in in our universe, we know that as uh getting close to retirement age and thinking about the next stage of your life, but you have done just about everything in the APD that a guy can do, right?
5:13
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, definitely.
5:13
SPEAKER_07: A lot most of my career has been on the operational side.
5:16
SPEAKER_07: So not a lot on the on the admin side, which admin is like professional standards, uh logistics.
5:24
SPEAKER_07: Although I did do a small stint in recruitment and career development.
5:27
SPEAKER_07: So that was that was a great opportunity to see how the agency recruits and how we also do our training for the officers internally.
5:36
SPEAKER_03: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
5:36
SPEAKER_03: You're somebody that's been on the street, okay?
5:38
SPEAKER_03: Not a desk jockey, as they say.
5:40
SPEAKER_03: No.
5:40
SPEAKER_03: I've been called a disc jockey, but desk jockey is somebody maybe that doesn't experience all that there is to know about policing.
5:46
SPEAKER_03: You've been out there firsthand and experienced some of the scary part of being a cop.
5:50
SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah.
5:50
SPEAKER_03: Uh there were you were stabbed.
5:52
SPEAKER_03: I mean, but yes, that happened.
5:54
SPEAKER_03: That was a scary moment.
5:55
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, uh and it was a big learning experience also.
5:58
SPEAKER_07: Um, but it was May of 2018, and I was on a call, and it was a simple wealth welfare check call, which ended up being uh a guy who was in a state of psychosis, erratic, scaring other guests at a hotel, and it quickly became a dangerous situation where like I got too close to the hotel room where he was at, and he came out and attacked me with a box cutter.
6:20
SPEAKER_07: And uh, you know, thank God I I was not injured severely or uh fatally.
6:26
SPEAKER_07: Uh the doctor told me had he cut two inches down further, he he could ended up cutting my my left ear, but had he got a little lower on my neck, that I probably would have bled out if he would have hit in the right spot.
6:37
SPEAKER_03: That's just an example of how things can turn in a dime, how scary it can be.
6:41
SPEAKER_03: You go to work one day not knowing what to expect in any way, but you kind of know the routine of the job.
6:46
SPEAKER_03: This might happen, that might happen, but you did not expect that to happen.
6:50
SPEAKER_07: No, and and what's cr what's crazy about it is that day at 6 30 in the morning, uh we had a SWAT call out.
6:56
SPEAKER_07: So at the time I was I was uh SWAT team commander and also the West Asheville District Lieutenant.
7:01
SPEAKER_07: And you know, you would think a SWAT call out is like you know really dangerous.
7:06
SPEAKER_07: And it was.
7:07
SPEAKER_07: We had we ended up getting several guns out of an apartment, some fentanyl, some heroin, and the guy had like a couple of carbines uh in the in the apartment.
7:16
SPEAKER_07: But of course, we had the element of surprise, went in, were able to take four guys safely into custody.
7:21
SPEAKER_07: Nobody injured, recovered several guns, two of which were stolen.
7:25
SPEAKER_07: Nobody injured, no damage done.
7:27
SPEAKER_07: Then fast forward two hours later, and I'm on uh just a routine patrol officer call for service, and the then the attack happens, and I end up having to shoot the guy to get him to quit attacking me.
7:39
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
7:40
SPEAKER_03: Asheville police chief Mike Lamb joins me right now.
7:43
SPEAKER_03: So here's a question for Ask the Chief.
7:45
SPEAKER_03: Is there a difference between somebody being a chief of police and a police commissioner?
7:50
SPEAKER_03: Or is it the same job, different title?
7:53
SPEAKER_07: A lot of that goes back to the the size of the agency.
7:55
SPEAKER_07: So when when I hear police commissioner, I think about New York, New York Police Department.
7:59
SPEAKER_07: So they Commissioner Gordon.
8:01
SPEAKER_07: Yes, exactly.
8:02
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, uh uh Batman and Or Commissioner Reagan from Blue Bloods.
8:08
SPEAKER_07: Oh, yeah, yeah.
8:08
SPEAKER_07: And I guess I I think Teddy Roosevelt was a commissioner also.
8:12
SPEAKER_03: Teddy Roosevelt was the police commissioner, New York City.
8:14
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, so right there at the turn of the century.
8:17
SPEAKER_07: So usually you have a large agency and they have less of an operational role.
8:21
SPEAKER_07: Usually they uh don't carry a gun, don't wear a typical police uniform.
8:26
SPEAKER_07: A lot of times they'll have their own driver.
8:28
SPEAKER_07: It's more of a political position than a uh departmental operational position where they're actually making overall decisions that affect the um, you know, on a daily basis affect the men and women of the agency.
8:43
SPEAKER_03: So to clarify, you do not have a chauffeur.
8:45
SPEAKER_03: As a matter of fact, you drove me over to the studio where we're broadcasting right now.
8:49
SPEAKER_03: So clearly not one of those situations here.
8:53
SPEAKER_07: No, no, and and I love being out there with the troops.
8:56
SPEAKER_07: I love being out in the community.
8:58
SPEAKER_07: So there's, yeah, yeah, like you said, I'm I'm not a desk jockey.
9:01
SPEAKER_03: Well, and the community seems to love you.
9:03
SPEAKER_03: A lot of it is because you came up through the ranks, and I think a lot of it is because just who you are and what you stand for, and then the rest, of course, is you're from here.
9:11
SPEAKER_03: You understand the people of the community.
9:14
SPEAKER_03: So tell us a little bit about that.
9:15
SPEAKER_03: I know you're a local high school kid, grow up here, the whole thing.
9:18
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, definitely.
9:19
SPEAKER_07: Um, so local, uh native of Asheville.
9:22
SPEAKER_07: Uh go ahead and shout out your high school.
9:24
SPEAKER_07: I know you want to.
9:24
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, AC Reynolds High School, go Rockets.
9:27
SPEAKER_07: They're uh ranked number one this year.
9:29
SPEAKER_07: So hopefully they'll win the Mac uh football conference and then uh end up going to state this year.
9:34
SPEAKER_07: They've got some r a lot of good talent uh this year.
9:37
SPEAKER_07: So a lot of kids come out of that program, go to college.
9:40
SPEAKER_07: Oh, yeah, yeah.
9:41
SPEAKER_07: And so yeah, grew up in East Asheville.
9:43
SPEAKER_07: I actually started um elementary school in North Asheville.
9:47
SPEAKER_07: So I went to Asheville Catholic up until sixth grade and then went from having a class of like 26 to a class of 300 at Reynolds Middle.
9:56
SPEAKER_07: Wow, you know.
9:56
SPEAKER_07: So that would that was an interesting transition.
9:58
SPEAKER_07: You can imagine.
9:59
SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
9:59
SPEAKER_03: Asheville Police Chief Mike Lamb is with me.
10:01
SPEAKER_03: We're talking about his rise to the chief of police in Asheville and our segment, Ask the Chief, which is gonna be part of our weekly bi-weekly.
10:09
SPEAKER_03: I guess we're gonna start every two weeks with this, the podcast, the APD Pod Squad.
10:12
SPEAKER_03: Let me give him that phone number again.
10:13
SPEAKER_03: It's uh 250-8800 if you want to call and leave a message to Ask the Chief or send us an email, apdpodcastfeedback at ashevillenc.gov.
10:23
SPEAKER_03: You've been the police chief now for well less than a year.
10:26
SPEAKER_03: Uh when we spoke, you were the deputy chief.
10:29
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
10:29
SPEAKER_03: Uh after and you assigned that was a temporary and interim role, and then of course you ascended to police chief.
10:34
SPEAKER_03: You're familiar with the phrase, uh, heavy is the head that wears the crown.
10:37
SPEAKER_03: Are you feeling that as a police chief now that you're at the highest level of this and having done almost everything else?
10:44
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, what keeps me up at night and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and be, you know, just have concerns about everyone's safety.
10:52
SPEAKER_07: So thank God we've not had an officer seriously injured or killed in uh since Rob Bingham uh died going over the the Jeff Bowen Bridge.
11:02
SPEAKER_07: But that that's that's what weighs heavy on me is just the safety of our officers.
11:06
SPEAKER_07: I remember speaking at a B L E T class, uh not this it was last year, but just looking at these young cadets, looking at their families, and having that understanding that their safety is my responsibility now.
11:19
SPEAKER_07: And so that's that's what concerns me.
11:21
SPEAKER_03: Yes, and most bosses are just worried about productivity and profit margins.
11:26
SPEAKER_03: But in your case, you've got people's lives in your hands.
11:29
SPEAKER_03: I can imagine that just weighs heavy.
11:30
SPEAKER_07: It does, and that's that's one reason that I do I wake up early in the morning and and go run with the cadets.
11:36
SPEAKER_07: So we do PT early in the morning with our B L E T cadets, and by doing PT, you're forming a bond with them, you're getting to you're you're able to understand them better, able to hear their stories about their families, their background.
11:49
SPEAKER_07: So that, you know, I d I I can put a a name with a face.
11:52
SPEAKER_07: Um, you know, we've had chiefs in the past that just had no idea who the new cadets were, or even, you know, sometimes they would get confused on their officers.
12:01
SPEAKER_07: And you know, I think it's it's just so important for me as the chief to know every officer, know their story, and also know their drive.
12:10
SPEAKER_07: You know, when when do with doing PT in the morning, you understand how far and how hard they will push themselves, also.
12:16
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, you're definitely not bubble wrapped.
12:18
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I'm sure there's been other chiefs of police in Asheville and other cities that are kind of uh standoffish.
12:24
SPEAKER_03: But you know, people will see you in the gym, walking down the hall.
12:27
SPEAKER_03: I mean, all over the place.
12:29
SPEAKER_03: And it's not a big shock when you walk in the room like people stand at attention.
12:33
SPEAKER_03: Because that would freak me out if I was if that ever happened to me, like I was like, just sit down, just you know, and that it that seems like this is a perfect role for you, and maybe why so many people were excited to see you ascend to this particular position.
12:48
SPEAKER_03: I remember it was early on, I joined the the Asheville Police Department in March.
12:52
SPEAKER_03: So not long after you'd been named the chief.
12:54
SPEAKER_03: And so I have a receptionist desk essentially, which is out in our our office, our administration offices, and everyone's always asking me who's where and whatever, and I happen to know because I can hear conversations.
13:05
SPEAKER_03: The steady stream of people coming in that wanted to, and I hate to use the phrase kiss the ring, but they wanted to congratulate you.
13:11
SPEAKER_03: It had to be heartwarming the support that you received, not just from your fellow officers and you know, our patrolmen and women and uh everybody on staff, our leadership, but the citizens of the community, former members of the Astral Police Department, and uh just regular citizens too.
13:27
SPEAKER_03: It was just a nonstop of, you know, congratulations, Mike.
13:30
SPEAKER_03: Congratulations.
13:31
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, it's been pleasantly overwhelming at times, especially with members of the community uh just calling and and seeing me out and saying just congratulations.
13:40
SPEAKER_07: We're so happy uh that you're the chief.
13:42
SPEAKER_07: And you know, uh a lot of times we as officers, especially detectives, they form very strong bonds with community members because they're sitting with those folks in their most intimate moments, like whenever you've had a family member who has passed because of a homicide or a traffic accident or something like that.
14:00
SPEAKER_07: You you're there trying to give them support, console them, and at the same time do an investigation.
14:07
SPEAKER_07: And those are relationships that last a lifetime.
14:11
SPEAKER_07: And you know, as I've said before, the relationships are the currency of policing.
14:16
SPEAKER_07: And when you we have strong relationships, that helps us to really build trust between the community and the Asheville Police Department.
14:25
SPEAKER_03: I'm looking forward to hearing more about uh your ascent and your years with the APD and the community.
14:31
SPEAKER_03: Uh their questions for you with our segment that we're gonna have as part of the APD pod squad, whose idea we don't really know.
14:38
SPEAKER_03: We're gonna say cheap Zach at the time, but you know what?
14:40
SPEAKER_03: Let's just go ahead and say it was your idea.
14:42
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
14:42
SPEAKER_03: And uh we're gonna declare that right here and now it was yours.
14:45
SPEAKER_03: Of course, if it flops, then there's that too.
14:49
SPEAKER_03: Safety net.
14:50
SPEAKER_03: Then it was his idea.
14:52
SPEAKER_03: You can call 250-8800 to ask the chief, leave a message, or send us an email, APD Podcastfeedback at AshevilleNC.gov.
15:00
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for joining me today.
15:02
SPEAKER_03: It's my pleasure.
15:04
SPEAKER_03: Tough to follow up, the chief, but let's do it.
15:06
SPEAKER_03: Episode one of the inaugural edition of the APD Pod Squad.
15:10
SPEAKER_03: Joining me right now, Lieutenant Josh Mindel.
15:13
SPEAKER_03: Welcome, sir.
15:13
SPEAKER_03: Thank you for having me.
15:14
SPEAKER_03: Okay, we got something in common.
15:16
SPEAKER_03: Uh, we are both from the Buffalo suburbs, so I will say something and you have to respond, but the only way you're allowed to.
15:21
SPEAKER_03: Go Bills.
15:22
SPEAKER_03: Go Bills.
15:23
SPEAKER_03: Yes, he did it right.
15:24
SPEAKER_03: We can be friends.
15:24
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
15:25
SPEAKER_03: It's a weird thing uh around the APD.
15:27
SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of Bills fans, and we get grief.
15:30
SPEAKER_01: I think we all got tired of being in the snow and in the cold.
15:33
SPEAKER_01: So we went like halfway south because Florida seemed too hot.
15:36
SPEAKER_01: So they call us halfbacks, you know.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
15:38
SPEAKER_01: So now we're here.
15:39
SPEAKER_01: We're too lazy to go all the way down to Florida.
15:41
SPEAKER_03: Well, and it's hot, it's humid.
15:43
SPEAKER_03: Who wants to be down by the dolphins?
15:44
SPEAKER_01: No, thank you.
15:45
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, dolphins suck.
15:46
SPEAKER_03: So our former chief, uh David Zach, was also a big Bills fan.
15:49
SPEAKER_03: Yes.
15:50
SPEAKER_03: He was a big part of the Bills mafia.
15:51
SPEAKER_03: I watched some uh some games with him.
15:52
SPEAKER_03: I watched some football games with him before.
15:54
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I didn't watch any games with him.
15:56
SPEAKER_01: Um, went to a couple of the different Bills backers areas, restaurants and bars around here to watch some games.
16:00
SPEAKER_01: And it's funny, every time I'm around here and I drive around, I see like a Bills sticker or a Bill's plate, my brain goes like, Oh, look at that.
16:06
SPEAKER_01: There's somebody from Buffalo.
16:07
SPEAKER_01: And then I go to Buffalo, my brain still doesn't, and then I have to remind myself like they're supposed to have all that stuff there.
16:13
SPEAKER_01: It's not weird.
16:14
SPEAKER_03: Hey, as long as we're talking about the Bills really briefly, as we're getting close to the football season.
16:17
SPEAKER_03: If you do want to watch some Buffalo Bills football, the social is where the uh Buffalo Bills Backers Club of Asheville meets.
16:24
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
16:24
SPEAKER_03: Uh so come watch a game with us there.
16:26
SPEAKER_03: That'll be cool.
16:26
SPEAKER_03: Lieutenant Josh Mindle of the Criminal Investigations Division of the Asheville Police Department.
16:31
SPEAKER_03: We just say CID, but the public would probably say detectives.
16:36
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
16:37
SPEAKER_03: Right.
16:37
SPEAKER_03: And so we're going to be learning about some cold cases, which uh is a hot topic right now.
16:42
SPEAKER_03: There's there's all these TV shows and podcasts, and well, ours, of course.
16:47
SPEAKER_03: People want to know about these cold cases.
16:49
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we uh we have cold cases that we go all the way back to 1969 on the ones that uh we have information on right now.
16:56
SPEAKER_01: Uh we have about 47 of them, and we have uh one detective, Kevin Taylor, uh, who's retired and has come back part-time to that's his primary responsibility, is to investigate the cold cases.
17:06
SPEAKER_01: He's the most familiar with all of them and details uh about the cases.
17:10
SPEAKER_01: Our major case unit used to traditionally just work those as an ancillary duty in addition to all their ongoing casework, whether it be homicides or robberies, uh things of that nature.
17:19
SPEAKER_01: And then when Kevin retired and was willing to come back and help out, that just became his primary role to work on these cases.
17:25
SPEAKER_03: All right, so let's uh let's tease the folks with a couple.
17:28
SPEAKER_03: I know the there's one that's really kind of well known around here from UNC Asheville.
17:32
SPEAKER_03: What was the year, I believe, 1973?
17:35
SPEAKER_01: 1973.
17:35
SPEAKER_01: It's uh Virginia Olsen was the victim in that case.
17:38
SPEAKER_01: She was found over in the botanical gardens.
17:40
SPEAKER_01: Uh she was a victim of a stabbing.
17:43
SPEAKER_01: And that is a case that we've worked over the years, both us and the State Bureau of Investigation.
17:48
SPEAKER_01: There's been a lot of work done in DNA, both by the state crime lab and by private laboratories, and we just haven't had a break in the case that has allowed us to solve it yet.
17:55
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I bet a lot of people think uh unsolved just means, you know, uninvestigated.
18:00
SPEAKER_03: And that's not true.
18:01
SPEAKER_03: Uh you're still hoping to get tips on any of these open cases.
18:04
SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell Yeah, we never stop working the cases.
18:06
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes they can go inactive, it would be the term that I would use.
18:10
SPEAKER_01: You know, three years or so without any new leads or any leads that have turned into uh further investigation is about when we consider a case to have gone cold.
18:19
SPEAKER_01: It kind of shifts into that cold case file at that point and gets worked at from a different angle, different perspective.
18:23
SPEAKER_01: Some fresh eyes get on it.
18:24
SPEAKER_01: We never stop working them.
18:26
SPEAKER_01: It's always just what can we do to re-examine what's already been done by previous investigators or in former years?
18:32
SPEAKER_01: How has technology changed?
18:33
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
18:34
SPEAKER_01: You know, forensic sciences is evolving and changing every single day, really.
18:38
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
18:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, so DNA technology has changed since 1973.
18:42
SPEAKER_01: New techniques are available, new testing formats are available for us to try different avenues.
18:47
SPEAKER_01: Digital forensics is now a new thing on some of our more recent cases.
18:50
SPEAKER_01: And obviously, there's the passage of time, and we hope that people eventually come forward and share what they know about these incidents uh with us to help us give victims' families some closure as to what happened.
19:00
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
19:00
SPEAKER_03: Lieutenant Josh Mindel, native of Lockport, New York, not far from my hometown of North Tanawanda, proud member of the Bills' Mafia.
19:06
SPEAKER_03: But enough about us.
19:07
SPEAKER_03: How about another case that we can expect to learn about it, besides that one that people would have uh remembered the old timers that have grown up here or are from here?
19:14
SPEAKER_01: You know, we had an incident back in 1997.
19:17
SPEAKER_01: Uh a young lady named Amber Lundgreen was found dead over in East Ashville at Recreation Park.
19:22
SPEAKER_01: She was found by a guy who was out walking his dog uh that morning.
19:25
SPEAKER_01: And it's kind of what happened to Amber was that she left a downtown bar called um Barcode, was never seen or heard from again until she was found by the guy walking his dog the next morning, stabbed.
19:37
SPEAKER_01: Uh, weapons never been recovered, and DNA analysis to this point hasn't provided us with uh any leads in that case.
19:43
SPEAKER_01: Um I'm sure there's people who remember that who frequent that park or uh used to go to that place back in the day, barcode, and and might know something about that that we would love to hear from uh and help us shine some more light on that case.
19:55
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that was right before I moved to town.
19:57
SPEAKER_03: I got here in 99.
19:58
SPEAKER_03: And I remember hearing about that though, you know, in the years following, a little bit about that case.
20:04
SPEAKER_03: And I I mean, I guess ultimately one of the things we would love to happen uh by discussing some of these cold cases uh is for people to maybe remember something from you know that night, that day, whatever those cases, whenever they landed, that could actually lead us to an arrest.
20:19
SPEAKER_03: I mean, how amazing would that be?
20:20
SPEAKER_01: Aaron Powell It would be fantastic.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: You know, these these families, these loved ones, these friends, they've waited a long time to see somebody be held accountable for their actions that took the life of their loved one.
20:30
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we would very much like to be able to provide that to them.
20:33
SPEAKER_03: Aaron Powell How about one more?
20:33
SPEAKER_03: Let's tease one more because we're gonna be hearing uh about these cold cases uh as the series progresses in bits and pieces and really do a deep dive.
20:42
SPEAKER_03: But uh what's another one that we can expect to hear about?
20:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think another one that's pretty well known around this area is a missing persons case that we've had.
20:48
SPEAKER_01: Uh April Pickens, who received a lot of publicity back in 2011 in the case.
20:51
SPEAKER_01: I remember that one between years.
20:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:53
SPEAKER_01: You know, she spent uh some time with her family at Christmas, and then she was supposed to go off and meet an unknown male, and she's never been seen or heard from since then.
21:00
SPEAKER_01: That case has been worked from a lot of different angles.
21:02
SPEAKER_01: It's publicly available in the Mamus database where people can look at the case and see what's going on or what work has been done.
21:08
SPEAKER_01: But that's one that uh a number of different investigators over the year have taken uh a shot at, looked at, uh tried to look at it from as many angles as we can from a missing person's case to a belief that she would have contacted her family by now if she was still alive.
21:22
SPEAKER_01: And so really trying to get closure on that one.
21:24
SPEAKER_01: A lot of uh effort's been put into that one.
21:26
SPEAKER_01: I know that there are different points, rewards for information were offered up on that one as well, and we'd like to see that one come to a conclusion.
21:32
SPEAKER_03: I mean, because there's there's probably family members, friends that are just still convinced that whoever has been declared dead is, you know, in some cases where it's a missing person, that they're still out there too.
21:42
SPEAKER_01: You know, yeah, you never really know.
21:44
SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's always the instances where you have an Elizabeth Smart type of situation where they've never seen or heard from again for 18 years, and then all of a sudden they gain their freedom and they're back.
21:52
SPEAKER_01: And you know, I don't know what it's like to be in the the shoes of a family member who's had somebody gone missing like that for a long period of time, but I would Imagine that they still hold out some kind of hope that one day they'll be reunited with them.
22:04
SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's amazing if that can happen.
22:06
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and if it's not, we still want to be able to tell them what ultimately happened to them and let them know that somebody's gonna be held accountable for it.
22:13
SPEAKER_03: We're looking forward to hearing those stories and many more on the APD Pod Squad.
22:17
SPEAKER_03: Just getting kicked off with the very first episode of this.
22:19
SPEAKER_03: Lieutenant Josh Middle, thanks for joining us.
22:21
SPEAKER_03: Looking forward to hearing more.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
22:24
SPEAKER_03: Captain Jonathan Brown joins me on the inaugural edition of the APD Pod Squad.
22:29
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for joining me today.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thanks for having me, Rick.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: It's uh good to be here and uh what a cool opportunity.
22:34
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, this is awesome, right?
22:35
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, okay.
22:36
SPEAKER_03: So I say Captain Jonathan Brown because you are, but I've known you long enough that I believe you were a sergeant when we met.
22:44
SPEAKER_00: Uh very good memory.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: Uh, you're going back a few years.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, all the way back to my early years with the uh Asheville Tourist, pull in some security gigs there.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: And uh you're right, I was a sergeant and have uh progressed through the ranks over the years.
23:01
SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.
23:01
SPEAKER_03: We love seeing a truly a local kid doing well because you are indeed local.
23:06
SPEAKER_03: Uh Irwin High School.
23:07
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
23:08
SPEAKER_03: Right?
23:08
SPEAKER_03: So you can perhaps settle once and for all.
23:11
SPEAKER_03: Is it Leicester or Leicester?
23:15
SPEAKER_00: Well, I I I'm native, so it's Leicester.
23:18
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: Uh you get that question all of the time.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: And the simplistic answer is if you're from there, it's Leicester.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: If you're a move-in, then it's Leicester.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
23:26
SPEAKER_03: As part of the APD Pod Squad, we're going to be hearing a lot from you because you're head of the community engagement division.
23:31
SPEAKER_03: That's right.
23:31
SPEAKER_03: And very active in the community, and that is specifically your job.
23:35
SPEAKER_03: Of course, all of our officers and detectives and all of our leadership, it's it's really important to all of them to get out there and be with the community.
23:43
SPEAKER_03: We had an incredibly successful national night out earlier this month.
23:47
SPEAKER_03: That was a lot of fun.
23:49
SPEAKER_03: We've got another coffee with a cop coming up in September.
23:52
SPEAKER_03: Just pay attention to our Facebook page for that.
23:54
SPEAKER_03: If you've never joined us on Coffee with a Cop, that's a lot of fun.
23:58
SPEAKER_03: First of all, we should mention the coffee is free, so don't think we're trying to stick you with an expensive, you know,$7 coffee somewhere.
24:05
SPEAKER_03: There's no, there's no there's no rig going on here.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: We're not we're not making expensive espresso and uh uh drinks, that that kind of thing.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: But uh it's just a good opportunity to meet new people, engage with folks, and you know, the we use coffee with a cop as a medium to uh meet people on neutral ground and create positive interactions.
24:28
SPEAKER_00: And uh what better way to enjoy a cup of coffee, right?
24:31
SPEAKER_03: Right.
24:31
SPEAKER_03: And we move it all over the place too.
24:33
SPEAKER_03: So if you say, oh, I can't get down to Biltmore Parktown Square for one, well, we last time we were down, we were in the south slope uh for one.
24:40
SPEAKER_03: We had we played pickleball that morning.
24:42
SPEAKER_03: That was in July, right?
24:43
SPEAKER_03: Played some pickleball for that one.
24:44
SPEAKER_03: The most recent that we had was at the uh uh the the Asheville outlets, which is not too so we're all over the place, too.
24:50
SPEAKER_03: We're moving it around a little bit.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: We try to we try to move around geographically to all four corners of the city.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: And uh so we every uh quarter we uh we try to have a coffee with a cop where we're in a different location in a different area of the city and uh talking to different folks.
25:07
SPEAKER_03: Aaron Powell Yeah, you know, typically on a Friday morning, you know, great way to kind of lean into the final day of the work week.
25:12
SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
25:13
SPEAKER_03: A lot of people, you know, that are just starting to date use coffee as a first date.
25:17
SPEAKER_03: So consider this your first date with a cop.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: I don't know where that's gonna lead, but I like it.
25:23
SPEAKER_03: But it is a casual environment.
25:25
SPEAKER_03: That's the thing.
25:26
SPEAKER_03: It's a great chance for you to interact with the police and just hang out and just talk and pick their brain a little bit.
25:31
SPEAKER_03: Or maybe if you got something going on in your community you want to share with them, you can do it then too.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: A lot of times that happens, Rick.
25:36
SPEAKER_00: A lot of times folks will uh use coffee with a cop to engage with us, and we end up in conversations about issues and concerns that are going on in their neighborhood.
25:45
SPEAKER_00: And uh usually we're able to link an officer to that person or to that community and uh start uh problem solving their concern.
25:54
SPEAKER_03: You've got stuff going on all the time, right?
25:56
SPEAKER_03: It's constant.
25:58
SPEAKER_00: We have a very robust programming calendar.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: Uh we look at each month and we we're building out each month with programming and events.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, we stay busy year-round.
26:08
SPEAKER_03: So I know that I'll be a part in uh my folks in communications uh with all of us.
26:12
SPEAKER_03: I'm the public information officer.
26:13
SPEAKER_03: We've got Samantha Booth, who heads our communications department, also Will Shepard, who does the amazing videos and pictures and stuff that you see in our Facebook page.
26:20
SPEAKER_03: We're part of the Citizens Police Academy, as are most of the departments in the Asheville Police Department, as we kind of I hate to say educate because that sounds so stiff, but really the the citizens of our community get to really do a deep dive and learn everything behind the scenes in some cases.
26:38
SPEAKER_03: We pull the curtain back on what is uh all that happens at the Asheville Police Department and the fall edition is coming up.
26:43
SPEAKER_00: Fall edition's coming up.
26:45
SPEAKER_00: So we just completed our application process that's just closed.
26:49
SPEAKER_00: Uh we are seating our fall class as we speak, and we'll be moving in to our fall session on uh September 19th.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: That will run for 10 weeks and uh meets every Thursday from 6 to 9 PM.
27:03
SPEAKER_00: And you're exactly right.
27:04
SPEAKER_00: It re it's a good way to describe it as pulling the curtain back because for those that don't have a family member in law enforcement, don't have a direct connection to law enforcement, and just see it from an outsider's perspective, this really brings you in and gives you a front row seat to see everything about APD, its administration, its operations, and we even take you outside the building.
27:29
SPEAKER_00: We take you uh over to the jail.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: And uh you get the opportunity to meet some of the judicial officials and folks that work in the court system.
27:37
SPEAKER_00: You get exposed to a lot of really, really neat, interesting things that is APD related.
27:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and uh it is a full 10 weeks.
27:45
SPEAKER_00: The other benefit I should mention is we feed you every Thursday night.
27:50
SPEAKER_00: And we spare no expense.
27:51
SPEAKER_03: It's really good food.
27:54
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
27:55
SPEAKER_03: So I mean, if you're just looking for a meal and to learn a little, I can't think of a better way to do it.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: It is.
28:01
SPEAKER_00: We we sat 27 students or attendees in our spring session, and all 27, we polled them each week and uh they gave us feedback through our surveys uh each week.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: I tell you, at the end, we did not receive one uh negative uh review.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: Everybody loved the program, they loved what they learned, they loved the exposure.
28:24
SPEAKER_00: Uh one week, I will mention this because this is kind of interesting, and I think it really ties all of the weeks together.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: One week out of the ten, we let you become the officer.
28:36
SPEAKER_00: And we put our attendees in scenario-based situations where they're making decisions like an officer would.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: And the feedback we got from our attendees was tremendous.
28:47
SPEAKER_00: They loved it.
28:48
SPEAKER_00: So it was really interesting to hear back from them.
28:51
SPEAKER_03: They don't get to use a taser, though, do they?
28:53
SPEAKER_00: No taser, but uh some simmunition type stuff.
28:57
SPEAKER_00: So they everybody had a great time.
28:59
SPEAKER_03: So i if you get an opportunity, uh like you said, we've already kind of got the class ready for the September fall edition.
29:04
SPEAKER_03: Uh when does the uh the next edition after this one for people that are saying this sounds really cool and interesting, when should I look for it?
29:10
SPEAKER_00: Spring 2025.
29:12
SPEAKER_00: And what we'll do January, we will start making announcements.
29:15
SPEAKER_00: Okay, and we'll push out uh an announcement that the application process is open.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: We'll run that for three or four weeks, and then we'll see our our spring class somewhere around March, middle of March of uh 2025.
29:29
SPEAKER_03: And a lot of you already probably like our Facebook page and follow our Facebook page.
29:32
SPEAKER_03: But if you don't, if you're listening from somewhere else, uh it's a great way to find out everything that you're doing and that we're doing as a department, is uh the Facebook page.
29:40
SPEAKER_03: We are we're always telling people about our engagements, uh our coffee with the cop, our Citizens Police Academy, all of those things.
29:47
SPEAKER_03: So liking our Facebook page, just you know, look up Asheville Police Department.
29:50
SPEAKER_03: You know how to find that.
29:51
SPEAKER_03: And that's a great way to stay up to date on that.
29:53
SPEAKER_03: So we're gonna be hearing about all those things in this new APD Pod Squad podcast.
29:59
SPEAKER_03: And so you'll be a frequent visitor here.
30:01
SPEAKER_00: Very good.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: I look forward to it.
30:03
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun.
30:04
SPEAKER_03: Captain Jonathan Brown, thanks for coming.
30:05
SPEAKER_03: We'll see you again soon.
30:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thanks, Rick.
30:07
SPEAKER_03: Appreciate you having me.
30:09
SPEAKER_03: Captain Brandon Moore joins me on the inaugural edition of the APD Pod Squad.
30:14
SPEAKER_03: Are we excited or what?
30:16
SPEAKER_03: This is pretty cool stuff.
30:17
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
30:17
SPEAKER_02: I don't think you told me it was the inaugural.
30:18
SPEAKER_03: Now I gotta change like my demeanor.
30:20
SPEAKER_03: At least I didn't say first annual.
30:22
SPEAKER_03: That's like a pet peeve of mine.
30:23
SPEAKER_03: There's no such thing as a first annual.
30:24
SPEAKER_03: It's an inaugural, and then everyone thereafter.
30:27
SPEAKER_03: You just made the glaring air, though.
30:29
SPEAKER_03: You told me what your pet peeve is.
30:31
SPEAKER_03: So then we will have a first annual event coming up.
30:33
SPEAKER_03: Oh, we have to, but that would be the second one, I think.
30:35
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
30:35
SPEAKER_03: So, okay, we're gonna be talking uh to officers every single episode and getting to know them.
30:40
SPEAKER_03: A lot of people, they just see the uniform, but they don't stop to think, oh my gosh, this put people's hobbies.
30:45
SPEAKER_03: He's got a background.
30:46
SPEAKER_03: Uh she did this, he did that.
30:48
SPEAKER_03: So we're gonna be learning about all of those things by talking with the officers themselves.
30:52
SPEAKER_03: How many uh patrol officers do we have right now, Captain Moore?
30:55
SPEAKER_02: On the road, currently assigned, we have 104.
30:58
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
30:58
SPEAKER_03: What would what would a fully staffed patrol division look like?
31:02
SPEAKER_03: 125, 130, 100.
31:04
SPEAKER_02: I think we're over 150 to be fully staffed.
31:06
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
31:06
SPEAKER_03: And the good news is we do have some incoming classes that are a little bit more sizable.
31:10
SPEAKER_02: We do, and I think many of them are going to meet what you're talking about.
31:13
SPEAKER_02: I think we're having a much more rounded group of people that have uh some really diverse backgrounds and where they're coming from.
31:19
SPEAKER_03: And you've already got some diverse backgrounds as part of the patrol division.
31:23
SPEAKER_03: Give me a couple little factoids, little nuggets that we can uh look forward to.
31:27
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's fun in kind of us learning about what other people do or had done before.
31:32
SPEAKER_02: And we have some uh that were electricians, some plumbers still certified.
31:37
SPEAKER_02: I think we have uh some that started in the fire service, though we don't want to talk about that.
31:41
SPEAKER_02: We have uh we have a few that uh even were a part of a barbershop quartet.
31:45
SPEAKER_02: Ho, ho, ho.
31:47
SPEAKER_02: Barbershop quartet.
31:49
SPEAKER_02: I'll let you figure out which one that is.
31:50
SPEAKER_02: That will be fun.
31:51
SPEAKER_03: I'm looking forward to that.
31:53
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we do.
31:53
SPEAKER_02: We have real estate agents that are active.
31:55
SPEAKER_02: We have some DJs, we have coaches, uh, both active in lower leagues as well as high schools around.
32:02
SPEAKER_02: So we have a lot of people that do a lot of things.
32:05
SPEAKER_03: You know, I think the the common misconception is that a lot of police officers maybe they just they just graduate high school, they poke around a bit, maybe they just come from college and they don't have much of a life before they join the force.
32:18
SPEAKER_03: But you just mentioned actual careers that were taking place and in some cases uh are right now in a parallel while they're police officers.
32:25
SPEAKER_03: Aaron Powell Yeah.
32:26
SPEAKER_02: And I think what we see happens often is those become hobbies.
32:29
SPEAKER_02: I think you described that earlier.
32:31
SPEAKER_02: Whatever the calling was that made them decide to give that up to start this, they still kind of hold on to that and probably are utilized too, whether it be on-the-job encounters and people that need that.
32:42
SPEAKER_02: Uh we even have individuals that do gutter businesses, uh hauling businesses.
32:46
SPEAKER_02: We have guys that do all kinds of things outside that I think also become extremely apparent and then are utilized by those around them.
32:53
SPEAKER_02: So I think uh whether it is turns into a hobby or it's a side job, even it is something that a lot of people still enjoy doing, but they were able to kind of get to do both.
33:02
SPEAKER_03: You know, we're calling this segment Getting to Know, because we're gonna be getting to know these officers in a real conversational format.
33:08
SPEAKER_03: I don't we don't want this to be just a you know a hard question-answer session.
33:11
SPEAKER_03: We just want to get to know people by just talking to them.
33:13
SPEAKER_03: And we're talking to you now.
33:15
SPEAKER_03: So tell us a little bit about you.
33:16
SPEAKER_03: Where'd you grow up?
33:17
SPEAKER_02: So I actually grew up in northern Indiana, right outside of Chicago, big Cubs fan.
33:21
SPEAKER_02: So anybody who's not, unfortunately, my son became a Braves fan, still trying to figure out how that happened.
33:26
SPEAKER_02: Uh my family is now in Indianapolis, uh, though.
33:29
SPEAKER_02: So we moved there and I needed to get away from Indiana, so I went to Charleston, South Carolina for college.
33:35
SPEAKER_03: So we've got two things in common immediately.
33:38
SPEAKER_03: Uh I also lived in Indiana, in Evansville.
33:40
SPEAKER_03: I've been to Indianapolis, which, by the way, is an underrated cool town.
33:44
SPEAKER_03: Uh, they've got a great food scene.
33:46
SPEAKER_03: I'm sure people don't think, oh, Indianapolis, middle of Midwest, what great stakes.
33:51
SPEAKER_03: Some of the best steak joints in the country are in Indianapolis.
33:53
SPEAKER_03: It's clear you have been there.
33:54
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, well, in downtown Indianapolis, it's very walkable.
33:58
SPEAKER_03: It reminds me of a much larger version of Asheville in a way.
34:01
SPEAKER_03: You've you've got like this canal waterway that's like sunken, and behind that are like museums.
34:07
SPEAKER_03: And the NCAA museum is in Indianapolis.
34:10
SPEAKER_03: That is correct.
34:11
SPEAKER_03: It is a cool town.
34:12
SPEAKER_03: And then, of course, you were in Charleston.
34:13
SPEAKER_03: I was in Charleston for several years as well.
34:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I uh I I went to college there.
34:17
SPEAKER_02: Many may have not known, but I walked on as the kicker.
34:20
SPEAKER_02: I was a college kicker.
34:22
SPEAKER_02: Is that right?
34:22
SPEAKER_02: Place kicker or punter?
34:24
SPEAKER_02: I was a place kicker.
34:24
SPEAKER_02: I did not like punting.
34:26
SPEAKER_03: How about you?
34:27
SPEAKER_02: And so from there I had known I would always go into uh the police work, but I could not join until I was 21.
34:33
SPEAKER_02: And I had graduated the fire academy in Indiana before I graduated high school.
34:38
SPEAKER_02: And so I could do that at 18.
34:39
SPEAKER_02: So why not start?
34:40
SPEAKER_02: And so I started uh first as an explorer and then transferred over to a recruit, and I went through and finished my fire service before and took the test, and they actually had to hold my search until I turned 18.
34:51
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
34:52
SPEAKER_02: And so I started with the fire department in Charleston, and so once I graduated college, I stayed with them, but I joined the North Charleston Police Department.
34:58
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
34:58
SPEAKER_03: So the things that are happening like in Charleston right now with the hurricanes, you can relate to that, I would imagine.
35:03
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that was crazy times.
35:04
SPEAKER_02: Those were times where everybody else was leaving, you were staying.
35:06
SPEAKER_02: Uh so it was get your family in a place that they could be, and then you knew you're you were gonna wait out that storm, whatever that looked like.
35:12
SPEAKER_03: We had a fire department right down from where I worked.
35:14
SPEAKER_03: I ran Palmetto Brewing Company on Huge Street.
35:17
SPEAKER_03: And it's called the I think the Ghost, the Ghost Station, because there's a it's allegedly haunted.
35:22
SPEAKER_03: Correct.
35:22
SPEAKER_03: And so the very first hurricane that I went through, we took them down a whole bunch of beer that they were not allowed to keep.
35:29
SPEAKER_03: I'm sure they gave it away like policy would indicate they should.
35:33
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, they were telling me they couldn't keep it as they were walking it into the fire station.
35:37
SPEAKER_03: I mean, you need supplies for those things, right?
35:39
SPEAKER_02: And so you don't know how long you're gonna be there.
35:41
SPEAKER_03: You don't.
35:41
SPEAKER_03: You don't.
35:42
SPEAKER_03: And the intersection right by where they were and where we were, which for people from Charleston or have been to Charleston know the intersection of Huge and King is literally below sea level.
35:51
SPEAKER_03: Correct.
35:52
SPEAKER_03: And so it's it floods on a blink when it doesn't rain.
35:55
SPEAKER_03: So those guys were always dealing with that, and so were we, and so we got to know those guys, and they would come by all the time after shift.
36:01
SPEAKER_03: So I got to know some firefighters.
36:03
SPEAKER_02: Usually what you see on that street are just canoes of college kids waiting for that rain.
36:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because right down the street is the Citadel as well.
36:10
SPEAKER_03: So we got to know a little bit about you.
36:11
SPEAKER_03: We're looking forward to getting to know your officers starting uh in the next episode of the APD Pod Squad.
36:17
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for joining me today.
36:18
SPEAKER_03: No, thank you for having me.
36:19
SPEAKER_03: Good luck.
36:20
SPEAKER_03: And that's a wrap for the inaugural edition of the APD Pod Squad.
36:24
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for tuning in.
36:25
SPEAKER_03: New episodes about every two weeks.
36:27
SPEAKER_03: Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a minute.
36:29
SPEAKER_03: I want to thank Chief of Police Mike Lamb, Lieutenant Josh Mindle, Captain Jonathan Brown, and Captain Brandon Moore for being my guests this week.
36:37
SPEAKER_03: On the next episode, we're gonna get to know Officer Isaiah Seniak.
36:42
SPEAKER_03: He's got a great story, and your questions answered if you ask the Chief with a phone call, 250-8800, leave a message, or email APD Podcast Feedback at AshevilleNC.gov.
36:56
SPEAKER_03: My name is Rick Rice.
36:57
SPEAKER_03: This is the APD Pod Squad.