PART 2: Homegrown Leadership | APD Interim Chief Mike Lamb

The Asheville Police Department hasn’t had a homegrown chief in 20 years. Local native Mike Lamb hopes that soon changes. Lamb grew up in Asheville and has been on the force since 1997. In December, city officials named him the interim chief with the sudden retirement of Chief David Zack. 

This is the second half of my conversation with Interim Chief Lamb. Part One posted January 10. 

Today, we bore into the often-stated statistic that Asheville Police is down 40 percent of its budgeted officers. We talk about elements of the job Lamb says don’t get the attention they should. I ask him about how he and his officers can change a perception many hold, that police come into situations with an adversarial mindset and often use unnecessary force. And Chief Lamb details his own traumatic experience on the job and how he worked through it.