Racial Slurs yelled at Local Residents
Asheville Citizen - Times - Asheville, N.C. Author: Mark Vanderhoff
Date: Oct 20, 2010
Section: BLACKMOUNTAINNEWS
The Black Mountain Police Department has finished investigating a case in which a Black Mountain family said two white males yelled racial slurs, threatened their lives, and attempted to break into their home.
Now, the case has been sent to the Buncombe County District Attorney for review before charges are filed.
"It's been very troubling going through this," Kimberly Briscoe, 36, said. "No one should have to experience this. But I would also like to thank the community. They have supported me 100 percent."
Briscoe said the ordeal began on Monday, October 4, when she noticed paintball marks on the front of her home, along Old U.S. Highway 70 East. When she asked her four children about the marks, they told her someone in a white Jeep Cherokee had been driving by in recent days, yelling racial epithets, and giving them the middle finger.
Sometimes the driver was alone; other times, he had someone with him, she said. Both suspects are young white males.
Briscoe encountered the suspects later that afternoon, when the driver pulled into her driveway, called her the N-word, and said he had a .45 caliber gun under his seat. When he drove down the street to a nearby gas station, she retrieved a video camera, called 911, and videotaped the suspect as he drove by again and gave her the middle finger.
Two days later, on October 6, she said she awoke to a sound at her bedroom window and alerted her sister.
"I went to one door and she went to another," she said. "We were scared. We didn't see anybody."
They discovered her window screen was damaged and filed another police report.
Briscoe said she is happy with the Black Mountain Police Department's investigation and has received much support from town officials and local residents. Police officers have also been checking on her regularly and patrolling her home, she said.
Black Mountain Police Chief Kevin Pressley believes the case is an isolated incident. He said the department interviewed 12 people and had photo lineups. The two suspects in the case have been contacted, he said, although he would not elaborate on the degree to which police have spoken with them.
Pressley expects the district attorney's review to last at least one week. Their office will provide an additional perspective on the case, determine whether it's prosecutable, and provide input on which charges might be best to bring.
"We seek their guidance on where to go from here," Pressley said. "Any case that's going to have a lasting effect, we're going to run it by the district attorney."
Monroe Gilmour, a Black Mountain resident and longtime advocate for racial equality, said it's important for town residents to support Briscoe and her family. As a community organizer with the Western North Carolina Citizens for an End to Institutional Bigotry (WNCCEIB), he often helps victims of hate crimes.
"Our experience is when someone is targeted or becomes the victim of hate crime, the best thing and the first thing to do is make sure they don't feel alone, because that is the thing - they feel isolated," he said.
Two unrelated cases have also made headlines. In September, a Leicester family reported someone had been driving through their front yard and yelling racial epithets. This month, a cross was burned in a yard of a Henderson County family.
Briscoe said she loves living in Black Mountain and doesn't consider the incidents typical of the community.
She moved here two years ago to get her children away from a bad neighborhood in Asheville. All four children now attend Owen High School. They enjoy the natural setting - she called Black Mountain "God's holy land."
"It's a great community," she said. "After everything that's happened, one person can't mess it up. It's still a great community."
Support the Briscoe family
Letters, cards, and other gestures of support can be mailed to:
Kimberly Briscoe
213A Old U.S. Highway 70 East
Black Mountain, NC 28711
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Abstract (Document Summary) Staff Writer The Black Mountain Police Department has finished investigating a case in which a Black Mountain family said two white males yelled racial slurs, threatened their lives, and attempted to break into their home. Monroe Gilmour, a Black Mountain resident and longtime advocate for racial equality, said it's important for town residents to support Briscoe and her family.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Date: Oct 20, 2010
Section: BLACKMOUNTAINNEWS
The Black Mountain Police Department has finished investigating a case in which a Black Mountain family said two white males yelled racial slurs, threatened their lives, and attempted to break into their home.
Now, the case has been sent to the Buncombe County District Attorney for review before charges are filed.
"It's been very troubling going through this," Kimberly Briscoe, 36, said. "No one should have to experience this. But I would also like to thank the community. They have supported me 100 percent."
Briscoe said the ordeal began on Monday, October 4, when she noticed paintball marks on the front of her home, along Old U.S. Highway 70 East. When she asked her four children about the marks, they told her someone in a white Jeep Cherokee had been driving by in recent days, yelling racial epithets, and giving them the middle finger.
Sometimes the driver was alone; other times, he had someone with him, she said. Both suspects are young white males.
Briscoe encountered the suspects later that afternoon, when the driver pulled into her driveway, called her the N-word, and said he had a .45 caliber gun under his seat. When he drove down the street to a nearby gas station, she retrieved a video camera, called 911, and videotaped the suspect as he drove by again and gave her the middle finger.
Two days later, on October 6, she said she awoke to a sound at her bedroom window and alerted her sister.
"I went to one door and she went to another," she said. "We were scared. We didn't see anybody."
They discovered her window screen was damaged and filed another police report.
Briscoe said she is happy with the Black Mountain Police Department's investigation and has received much support from town officials and local residents. Police officers have also been checking on her regularly and patrolling her home, she said.
Black Mountain Police Chief Kevin Pressley believes the case is an isolated incident. He said the department interviewed 12 people and had photo lineups. The two suspects in the case have been contacted, he said, although he would not elaborate on the degree to which police have spoken with them.
Pressley expects the district attorney's review to last at least one week. Their office will provide an additional perspective on the case, determine whether it's prosecutable, and provide input on which charges might be best to bring.
"We seek their guidance on where to go from here," Pressley said. "Any case that's going to have a lasting effect, we're going to run it by the district attorney."
Monroe Gilmour, a Black Mountain resident and longtime advocate for racial equality, said it's important for town residents to support Briscoe and her family. As a community organizer with the Western North Carolina Citizens for an End to Institutional Bigotry (WNCCEIB), he often helps victims of hate crimes.
"Our experience is when someone is targeted or becomes the victim of hate crime, the best thing and the first thing to do is make sure they don't feel alone, because that is the thing - they feel isolated," he said.
Two unrelated cases have also made headlines. In September, a Leicester family reported someone had been driving through their front yard and yelling racial epithets. This month, a cross was burned in a yard of a Henderson County family.
Briscoe said she loves living in Black Mountain and doesn't consider the incidents typical of the community.
She moved here two years ago to get her children away from a bad neighborhood in Asheville. All four children now attend Owen High School. They enjoy the natural setting - she called Black Mountain "God's holy land."
"It's a great community," she said. "After everything that's happened, one person can't mess it up. It's still a great community."
Support the Briscoe family
Letters, cards, and other gestures of support can be mailed to:
Kimberly Briscoe
213A Old U.S. Highway 70 East
Black Mountain, NC 28711
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Abstract (Document Summary) Staff Writer The Black Mountain Police Department has finished investigating a case in which a Black Mountain family said two white males yelled racial slurs, threatened their lives, and attempted to break into their home. Monroe Gilmour, a Black Mountain resident and longtime advocate for racial equality, said it's important for town residents to support Briscoe and her family.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
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