Video of Asheville police officers slidin’ at July Fourth block party a hit

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

1

Video of two Asheville Police Department officers participating in a homemade Slip-N-Slide at an Oakley neighborhood block party has been a huge hit this July Fourth weekend.

The video has been viewed thousands of times on the Facebook page of Katlen Smith, and its been shared thousands more times from there.

Somebody called the police on Sunday, apparently worried about the party taking over an East Asheville street. Officers Joe Jones and Carrie Lee checked it out, determined everybody was safe, then each took the downhill water ride, in full uniform.

The video of Jones, in particular, is a quintessential summertime video of a big guy having fun with kids. The video, shot by Travis Barker Vaughn Eagledove, was picked up by a variety of news organizations, including ABC News.

The feel-good video is great PR for the Asheville Police Department, which has been under fire recently on a number of fronts. In April, Asheville City Council sought urgent action after an analysis of traffic stop data. Then in May and June, a group of residents actively protested Asheville Police Chief Tammy Hooper’s request for an extra $1 million to hire about a dozen new police officers. City Council decided to add the new officers over the next two years.