New wrinkle in Chadgate: Asheville Police officer says chief, fellow officer tried to coerce him

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that Asheville Police Department Lt. Bill Wilke held a press conference today to say that Chief William Anderson and another officer, Capt. Stony Gonce, wanted him to lie about facts surrounding a March car crash involving the police chief’s son, Chad Anderson. The crash triggered an SBI investigation called for by the District Attorney, Ron Moore, after Chief Anderson initially said he would investigate. Chief Anderson later apologized for not seeking an outside agency to investigate right off the bat.

In early June, Chad Anderson was served with four felony warrants connected to the crash. DA Moore said at the time that the SBI investigation was not finished, and that the chief’s handling of the case was not within the scope of the investigation.

That would fall to city manager Gary Jackson and his assistant, Jeff Richardson. But they apparently don’t seem interested in getting to the bottom of the issue, according to a column Sunday by Asheville Citizen-Times reporter/columnist John Boyle:

Here’s what I got from city spokesman Brian Postelle when I asked if the city would investigate the chief adminstratively: “Chief Anderson’s supervisor has reviewed the events of the night.”

Man, that kind of sunshine is absolutely blinding!

They also sent his public personnel file, which simply shows date of hire and latest raise.

Wilke, noting that he did not bend to the chief’s coercion, also said this morning that met with the city manager to explain his concerns. There’s apparently been no action. Wilkie says there are also two other APD officers willing to talk about the coercion.

So, who’s going to make the next move?

Background here and here.