Bele Chere 2010 takes toll on festival-goers; Asheville EMS worker threatens arrest for taking photo on public street
Bele Chere 2010 will come to a close at the end of the day today, but not after extracting a toll. Several people were knocked out by the heat – temperatures hit the low 90s on Saturday – and revelers are paying a price in terms of hangover mitigation. WLOSer Heather Graf reported that she nearly passed out after just one hour at the festival.
I came across a medical emergency about 8 p.m. Saturday night at the corner of Lexington and Walnut. A woman was down on the sidewalk and EMTs had just jumped out of an ambulance to attend to her. I stopped and started snapping a few photos. I moved closer to get this shot when one of the EMTs told me to leave immediately. I said I was on a public sidewalk in the middle of a public festival. The EMT then threatened to call the police and have me arrested on the spot. “Do it,” I responded. I moved along.
I wasn’t interfering with the emergency work at hand. I understand the privacy concerns of a person. But it’s news when people start dropping at a big city festival, and in the course of gathering the news, I’m allowed to shoot a photo. Don’t threaten to arrest me for something I have the right to do.
Category: News

Photo by Jason Sandford





























