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threat from outside protest organizations and highly organized, non-student groups and
networks who are not associated with UNC-CH and do not have the best interests of the UNC-
CH’s community in mind. Both UNC-CH and the University System must be willing to adapt to
the changing landscape of the university protest environment in order to adequately address
future events and engage in the continued debate over controversial structures on campus. Our
analysis suggests that the forceful removal of Silent Sam was caused by a confluence of events
stemming from a number of different factors, including but not limited to: (1) ineffective reporting
structures and communications practices between senior administration leadership and the
UNC-CH police; (2) inadequate event planning and failure to synthesize and assess pre-event
information; and (3) lack of a formal protocol regarding decision-making responsibility for law
enforcement related matters.

This Report begins with an overview of the protocol and processes utilized in compiling
this Assessment and Report. A detailed factual summary of the events surrounding the August
20, 2018 protest will follow. The Report ultimately concludes by outlining the major findings and
recommendations from our Assessment in order to assist UNC-CH and the University System in
addressing these challenges.

II. PROTOCOL AND ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Key factual witnesses were interviewed at various locations in Chapel Hill over several
weeks from September through October of 2018. Relevant documents were reviewed
concurrently with and subsequent to these interviews. The Report constitutes a culmination and
analysis of our combined factual findings.

A. Assessment Process Overview

Phase Activities
Outside Research/Media Reports We read and analyzed a number of outside
media and news reports related to the August
20, 2018 incident and to other protests
involving Silent Sam.
Interviews We interviewed 27 members of the UNC-CH
Police Department; 11 UNC-CH
administrators; 2 University System
administrators; 2 UNC-CH Board of Trustees
members; and 2 miscellaneous witnesses.
Document Review We gathered and reviewed relevant
documents and materials.

B. Outside Research/Media Reports

In putting together this report, several outside research sources were reviewed, including
but not limited to the UNC University Archives, the UNC webpage, the University System’s
webpage, the North Carolina Sheriff’s Department webpage, Facebook, Twitter, The Daily Tar
Heel, the Chapel Hill News & Observer, the Herald-Sun, the Chapel Hill News, the News &
Record, WRAL, WUNC, WCHL & Chapelboro, CBS News, Fox News, ABC News, USA Today,
Change.org, Reuters, Time, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Business Insider,
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Campus Reform, and the Chicago Tribune. These sources supplemented the first-hand
accounts provided during in-person interviews and other documents and materials reviewed by
our team.

C. Interviews

We conducted in-person interviews to confirm our understanding of the facts leading up

to the August 20, 2018 protest involving Silent Sam and the aftermath of its toppling. For this
purpose, we interviewed four (4) primary groups of people: (1) officers with the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill Police Department; (2) members of the UNC-CH administration;
(3) members of the University System administration; and (4) members of the Board of
Trustees. We interviewed Chief Christopher Blue of the Chapel Hill Police Department (“Chapel
Hill Police”) and Chis Otto from ISAAC/the Fusion Center. We also conferred with Orange
County District Attorney Jim Woodall and SBI Director Robert Schurmeier. We completed the
interviews from September to October 2018.

UNC-CH Police Department

The UNC-CH Police Department is a campus law enforcement agency established and
maintained in accordance with N.C.G.S. § 116-40.5. The Department is accredited with the
Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrations (“ACLEA”) and is headed by the Chief
of Police, Jeff McCracken. Between fifty (50) to sixty (60) officers make up the Department,
depending on the number of vacant positions. Officers employed within the Department meet
the requirements of Chapter 17C of the General Statutes, take the oath of office prescribed by
Article VI, Section 7 of the North Carolina Constitution, and are authorized to exercise all the
powers of law enforcement officers.

There are three (3) Captains that directly serve the Chief, (1) Captain Connie Bullock
(Support Services Commander); (2) Captain Tom Twiddy (Patrol Services Commander); and (3)
Captain Rahsheem Holland (Administrative Services Commander). In addition to officers in
more administrative positions, the University Police have several specialized units including
Uniformed Patrol, the Community Response Unit (“CRU”) and the Criminal Investigations
Department (“CID”). Uniformed Patrol is designed to have four (4) squads of nine (9) officers
each. The CRU is composed of eight (8) officer positions and the CID section is comprised of
five (5) officer positions. The University Police Department’s Latest Organizational Chart is
attached hereto as Exhibit A. The following members of the UNC-CH Police Department were
interviewed for this Report on the following dates:

Name Position/Rank Date Interviewed

Jeff McCracken Chief 9/10/2018; 9/26/2018
Tom Twiddy Captain 9/11/2018
Connie Bullock Captain 9/11/2018
Rahsheem Holland Captain 9/11/2018
Keith Ellington Lieutenant 9/11/2018
James Ellis Lieutenant 9/11/2018
Michael Berendsen Lieutenant 9/11/2018
Jacob Kornegay Sergeant 9/11/2018; 9/20/2018
John Ross Officer 9/11/2018
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Jeffrey Mosher Lieutenant 9/12//2018

Ray Oliver, Jr. Investigator 9/12/2018
Timothy Goad Sergeant 9/12/2018
Cameron Gales Sergeant 9/12/2018
Michael Goodwin Sergeant 9/12/2018
James David Sergeant 9/12/2018
Hector Borges Officer 9/12/2018
Brian Detweiler Officer 9/12/2018
Shane Hardenberger Officer 9/12/2018
Bob Gerringer Officer 9/12/2018
Matthew Dodson Officer 9/17/2018
Nathaniel Wood Officer 9/17/2018
Jonathan Culberson Officer 9/17/2018
Ross Barbee Investigator 9/17/2018
Pedro Vasquez Officer 9/17/2018
Tiesha Williams Officer 9/17/2018; 9/25/2018
Nicholas Lynch Officer 9/17/2018
Forrest Wade Humphrey Officer 9/17/2018

UNC-CH Administrators

Carol Folt is UNC-CH’s eleventh Chancellor and is the head of UNC-CH’s administrative
system. Chancellor Folt works along with the Board of Trustees and reports to the President of
the University System, Margaret Spellings. As of March 2018, the Office of the Chancellor at
UNC-CH is comprised of twenty-three (23) administrators who report to Chancellor Folt and to
the UNC-CH Board of Trustees. The March 2018 Office of the Chancellor Organizational Chart
is attached hereto as Exhibit B. The following UNC-CH administrators were interviewed for this
Report on the following dates:

Name Position Date Interviewed

Felicia Washington Vice Chancellor for Workforce 9/18/2018
Strategy, Equity, and
Engagement
Jonathan Pruitt Vice Chancellor for Finance 9/18/2018
and Operations
Clayton Somers Vice Chancellor for Public 9/18/2018
Affairs and Secretary of the
University
Robert (Bob) Blouin Executive Vice Chancellor 9/20/2018
and Provost
Mark Merritt Vice Chancellor and General 9/20/2018
Counsel
Christi Hurt Assistant Vice Chancellor for 9/20/2018
Student Affairs
Derek Kemp Associate Vice Chancellor for 9/20/2018; 9/26/2018
Campus Safety and Risk
Management
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Joel Curran Vice Chancellor of University 9/20/2018

Communications
Amy Hertel Chief of Staff to the 9/21/2018
Chancellor of UNC-CH
Carol Folt Chancellor of UNC-CH 9/21/2018; 9/26/2018
Winston Crisp Vice Chancellor for Student 9/21/2018
Affairs

University System Administrators

The University of North Carolina System (“University System”) is a multi-campus

university, composed of sixteen (16) constituent universities across the State and the North
Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. Together, University System campuses enroll
approximately 225,000 students. UNC-CH is one of the constituent institutions of the University
System, and was originally chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1789. The
twenty-eight (28) member Board of Governors is the University System’s policymaking body and
is legally chartered with “the general determination, control, supervision, management, and
governance of all affairs of the constituent institutions.” The Board of Governors elects the
President of the University System and chooses the chancellor for each of the System’s
constituent institutions on the President’s nomination. A copy of the University of North Carolina
Organizational Chart is attached hereto as Exhibit C. The following administrators from the
University System were interviewed for this Report on the following dates:

Margaret Spellings President of the University of 9/24/2018

North Carolina
Brent Herron University of North Carolina 9/24/2018
System’s Associate Vice
President of Campus Safety
and Emergency Operations

UNC-CH Board of Trustees

Each of the universities that form a part of the University System has a board of trustees
consisting of eight (8) members elected by the Board of Governors, four (4) appointed by the
General Assembly, and the president of the student body, who serves ex officio. Each of the
universities’ boards of trustees has been delegated extensive powers over academic and other
operations by the Board of Governors. The current Chair of the UNC-CH Board of Trustees is
Haywood Cochrane, Jr. The following board members from the UNC-CH Board of Trustees
were interviewed for this Report on the following dates:

Haywood Cochrane, Jr. Chair of the Board of Trustees 9/18/2018

Dwight Stone Board of Trustees Member 9/21/2018

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Other/Miscellaneous

The following additional fact witnesses were interviewed for this Report on the following
dates:

Christopher Blue Chief of the Town of Chapel 9/25/2018

Hill Police Department
Chris Otto ISAAC/Fusion Center 10/3/2018

The Chapel Hill Police Department, when fully staffed, is made up of one hundredtwenty
(120) officers and is headed by Chief of Police, Christopher Blue. The Chapel Hill Police
Department and the UNC-CH Police Department have standing mutual aid agreements
pursuant to N.C.G.S.. § 160A-288, which enable them to provide various levels of assistance to
one another in upholding and enforcing North Carolina law.1

The North Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center (“ISAAC”), located in
Raleigh, NC, is administered by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (“SBI”).
ISAAC is an organization which develops actionable intelligence on immediate and emerging
threats and shares it with its first responders, the private sector, emergency management,
critical infrastructure, and its federal, state, local, and tribal partners. In our interviews, ISAAC
was used interchangeably with the Fusion Center, a collaborative effort of two or more agencies
that provide resources, expertise, and information in order to respond to criminal and terrorist
activity. The University Police often work with ISAAC and the Fusion Center when preparing for
major protests like the one on August 20, 2018.

Finally, we also had telephone conferences with SBI Director, Robert L. Schurmeier, and
Orange County District Attorney James Woodall regarding the August 20, 2018 demonstration
and follow-up gatherings involving Silent Sam. Face-to-face interviews were neither conducted
nor requested.

D. Document Review

Over several weeks from August to mid-October, we gathered and reviewed relevant
materials from UNC-CH and other sources. These materials were collected, sorted, and then
reviewed by contract attorneys for initial responsiveness. The results of the first level review
were then analyzed by attorneys at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP.

1
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A-288 authorizes law enforcement agencies to loan: (1) officers (including in an
undercover capacity); (2) equipment; and (3) supplies in order to assist in enforcing the laws of North
Carolina. For the purposes of this statute “law enforcement agency” includes municipal police
departments, county police departments, a sheriff’s office, or local ABC officers. Both the Chapel Hill
Police Department and the University’s Police Department fall under the municipal police department
category.

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III. FACTS AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A. The Silent Sam Monument

In 1908, the Board of Trustees for UNC-CH approved a request from the North Carolina
chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (“UDC”) to erect a Confederate monument
on the UNC-CH campus to commemorate the more than 300 students serving as Confederate
soldiers who perished in the Civil War. Sculptor John Wilson completed the monument in 1913.

On June 2, 1913, the monument was dedicated on commencement day and placed on a
pedestal in McCorkle Place. The unveiling featured speeches by Governor Locke Craig and
Julian Shakespeare Carr, a Confederate veteran, local industrialist, and trustee of the
University. In his speech, Carr lauded the Confederate army's "sav[ing] the very life of the
Anglo Saxon race in the South" and recalled a personal anecdote of "horse-whipp[ing] a negro
wench until her skirts hung in shreds" for insulting a white woman on Franklin Street. “I
performed the pleasing duty,” he continued, “in the immediate presence of the entire garrison,
and for thirty nights afterwards slept with a double-barrel shot gun under my head.” The racist
rhetoric of the unveiling coupled with the symbolism of the statue itself has fueled decades of
protests and controversy.

B. October 25, 2015

Although there have been a number of protests and boycotts concerning Silent Sam, the
October 25, 2015 rally marked the first of the modern gatherings that required a significant
University Police presence. In 2015, several events culminated to bring renewed interest to
Confederate monuments and structures: (1) on May 28, 2015, the Board of Trustees passed
three resolutions, one of which renamed Saunders Hall to Carolina Hall (Mr. Saunders was a
Colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and was linked to the Ku Klux Klan); (2)
on June 27, 2015, an activist was arrested after removing the Confederate battle flag displayed
on the grounds of the South Carolina State House (the flag was permanently taken down as a
result on July 10, 2015); (3) on July 17, 2015, nine (9) people were killed at a historic black
church in Charleston, South Carolina, by a white man who confessed to trying to start a race
war; and (4) Governor Pat McCrory signed Senate Bill 22 on July 23, 2015, which made it
harder to remove statues and other historical monuments from public property. From July to
October of 2015, Silent Sam was defaced and vandalized on multiple occasions. In response,
two Confederate heritage groups, Orange County Taking Back Orange County (“Orange NC
Southerners”) and Alamance County Taking Back Alamance County (“ACTBAC”) held a rally on
campus in support of Silent Sam, which was scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm on October 25,
2015.

The UNC-CH Police found out about the October 25, 2015 event through social media
and contacted the leader of ACTBAC in the weeks prior to the event. According to several
officers, the University Police Department generally attempted to contact and liaise with protest
groups prior to planned events in order to help prepare and ensure the safety of eventual
attendees. Based upon information provided by ACTBAC in conjunction with social media
intelligence, the University Police were able to anticipate the number of Confederate heritage
protestors and knew that counter-protestors were also likely to attend. Although they had not
had a particularly violent protest to date, the University Police approached this event with the
“worst case scenario” mindset. Towards these ends, Mobile Field Forces (i.e., police units
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trained in crowd control and other techniques) from other law enforcement agencies were asked
to work alongside University Police officers pursuant to mutual aid agreements. These outside
Mobile Forces were ultimately staged in an adjacent building, ready to be called upon if needed.
Bike rack barricades were also utilized in a flying saucer/oblong configuration with Silent Sam at
the center. This configuration was designed to ensure that the Confederate heritage groups
could approach the monument while maintaining adequate separation from the counter-
protesters.

However, what was originally planned to primarily be a demonstration in support of

Silent Sam turned into a rally against the Confederate monument. While about one hundred
(100) people gathered in support of Silent Sam, approximately three hundred (300) showed up
in support of its removal. Despite the University Police’s best efforts, there was some
intermingling between the Confederate heritage and counter-protester groups. According to
several officers, some of the Confederate group members cut across the area designated for
the counter-protesters, who were mostly student demonstrators representing the Black Lives
Matter movement. While there was some hostility between the two groups, several members of
the University Police recalled that the event was not particularly violent or aggressive. No one
was seriously injured and any aggressive elements were successfully contained. The officers
considered their response to the October 25, 2015 protest a success and said that it was used
as the template for future protests.

C. August 22, 2017

The violent demonstration by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia on August

11 and 12, 2017, brought renewed attention to the debate over Confederate monuments in
public spaces. This feeling intensified following the toppling of a Confederate monument in
Durham by anti-monument demonstrators on August 14, 2017, and Duke University’s decision
to remove a vandalized statue of Robert E. Lee from the entrance of Duke Chapel on August
19, 2017. In deciding to take their statue down, Duke University cited campus safety as one of
its main motivating factors.

Around this time, flyers began circulating on social media and around Chapel Hill
regarding a planned protest at Silent Sam at 7:00 pm on August 22, 2017. This also happened
to be the first day of classes at UNC-CH. The posters read: “The first day of Silent Sam’s last
semester,” and were accompanied by the hashtags “#SilenceSam, #HeatherHeyer,
#BlackLivesMatter,” and included a photo of the statue upside-down.

On August 19, 2017Chief McCracken penned a memorandum to Chancellor Folt

following her request for documentation regarding the needs of the campus police and the costs
involved in monitoring Silent Sam. The Chief stated that in his professional opinion, it was only
a matter of time before an attempt would be made to bring down the statue and that the police
had information indicating that an attempt might occur on August 22. The Chief asked for
support to help mitigate the impending threat. A copy of the Chief’s August 19, 2017 Memo is
attached hereto as Exhibit D.

Two days later, the Chief wrote a follow-up letter to the Chancellor. The August 21,
2017 letter outlined the costs of continued monitoring at Silent Sam. This included $25,000
spent on the October 25, 2015 event and $1,700 per day spent to maintain the University’s

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police presence at the monument. The Chief estimated that it would cost $621,000 annually to
continue the current level of police presence.2 A copy of the Chief’s August 21, 2017 Letter is
attached hereto as Exhibit E.

That same day, members of the UNC System and UNC-CH’s administration penned a
letter to Governor Roy Cooper requesting additional law enforcement support. The letter asked
that Governor Cooper “take appropriate action to avoid violence and address the significant
safety risks to the UNC-CH students and the campus as well as the risk of damage to the Silent
Sam monument.” The letter revealed that University Police and the SBI believed that an
attempt to topple Silent Sam was imminent. The letter was signed by President Spellings,
Chancellor Folt, Lou Bissette, and Board of Trustee’s Chair Haywood Cochrane. A copy of the
administration’s August 21, 2017 Letter to Governor Cooper is attached hereto as Exhibit F.

Responding late that evening, Governor Cooper stated that he had always stood with
University and local law enforcement since the events in Charlottesville and argued that UNC-
CH had the power to remove the statue if they feared an imminent threat: “If our University
leaders believe there is a real risk to public safety, the law allows them to take immediate
measures.” See https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/orange-
county/article168579147.html. However, in a statement released early the next day on August
22, 2017, UNC-CH argued that it could “act only in accordance with the laws of state of North
Carolina,” and that legal ambiguity prevented further action: “The University is now caught
between conflicting legal interpretations of the statute from the Governor and other legal
experts,” the statement said. "We continue to believe that removing the Confederate Monument
is in the best interest of the safety of our campus, but the University can act only in accordance
with the laws of the state of North Carolina." See
https://uncnewsarchive.unc.edu/2017/08/22/statement-university-status-confederate-
monument/. On August 22, 2017 several members of the BOG wrote a letter to President
Spellings and then-Chair Bissette disagreeing with their letter to the governor. See
https://www.wral.com/members-of-unc-board-of-governors-voice-concern-over-handling-of-
silent-sam-statue/16934041/

University Police began placing bike rack barricades around Silent Sam on the morning
of August 22, 2017. This time, however, the barricades were configured into two concentric
circles surrounding the statue, with UNC-CH Police officers placed in the space between the
two barricades overlooking the crowd. Officers were provided with helmets and gas masks and
received outside support from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Chapel Hill Police
Department, and the Highway Patrol’s Mobile Field Force, among others.

The event began on time at 7:00 pm that evening. Estimates of the crowd ranged from a
few hundred to over a thousand. However, unlike the event in 2015, which had vocal
participants in favor of and against the statue, this one was primarily attended by anti-statue
protesters. After several speakers addressed the crowd with a megaphone, the group marched

2
In a July 9, 2018 statement, UNC-CH officials noted that the University had spent $390,000 from July 1,
2017 to June 30, 2018 to provide security in the area around Silent Sam. In addition, the University
reported that approximately $3,000 in expenses are used to “clean the monument after vandalism during
the fiscal year.” https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article214790180.html

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down Franklin Street to the University System President’s home. The crowd blocked traffic for
approximately twenty (20) minutes, but left without incident.

While the August 22, 2017 protest was largely peaceful, at least three (3) people were
arrested. Several people in the crowd pushed against the barricades, forcing police to push
back. What started as an anti-statue protest eventually developed into an anti-police rally. One
UNC-CH student was charged with a misdemeanor resisting arrest. UNC spokesman Randy
Young also indicated that an individual from Graham, NC, was charged with possessing a knife
on school property and an individual from Durham, NC, was charged with wearing a mask and
resisting arrest.

D. Interim Period Between August 2017 and April 2018

According to University Police, some protesters stayed at the statue overnight following
August 22, 2017 and began a prolonged sit-in. The students and protesters took shifts around
the monument to ensure a consistent presence and asked for temporary rain shelters and
portable batteries to be brought by their supporters on Facebook.

On August 25, 2017, UNC-CH released another statement, this time on behalf of the
Board of Trustees. This statement provided that Chancellor Folt had been advised by the Office
of University Counsel and the General Administration that UNC-CH did not have the legal
authority to move the monument and that the Board of Trustees agreed with that interpretation.
The Board of Trustees then expressed support for the Chancellor and UNC-CH’s handling of
the matter, noting that that it would be “unwise and imprudent for the University to take any
action regarding the monument without additional legal clarity.” The Statement reiterated that
UNC-CH would continue to “enforce all policies regarding signage and the proper use of
grounds and facilities. See https://uncnewsarchive.unc.edu/2017/08/25/statement-board-
trustees-confederate-monument/.

In the meantime, University Police monitored Silent Sam, with at least one officer
stationed near or patrolling around the monument, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Officers either patrolled the statue after signing up for overtime or the assignment was
delegated to the squad on duty. Two (2) cameras, which were installed around 2015, allowed
police to view a live stream of the monument at the 911 dispatch center. Although students and
community members continued to protest the presence of the monument through boycotts and
demonstrations, these events were generally small and peaceful.

E. April 30, 2018

On April 30, 2018, Little defaced the Silent Sam monument with red paint allegedly
mixed with her own blood. In describing her actions on April 30 to the Daily Tar Heel, Little
explained:

I smeared my blood and red ink on the statue because the statue was lacking
proper historical context. This statue, Silent Sam, was built on white supremacy.
It was built by white supremacists. It was built by people who believed that Black
people were inferior and wanted to intimidate them. So these statues were built
on Black blood. These statues symbolize the violence toward Black people.
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Without that blood on the statue, it’s incomplete, in my opinion. It’s not properly
contextualized.

See http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2018/05/maya-little-quanda-0501.

Following her arrest on April 30, Little was charged with defacing, striking, marking or
injuring a public statue, according to the Orange County Magistrate's Office. She was released
on a promise to appear in court. Her court date was initially scheduled for August 20, 2018.
However, prior to August 20, her court date was continued to September 4 and then October
15, 2018 by Jim Woodall following concerns that August 20 coincided with the first weekend
back on campus at UNC-CH.

F. Planning and Preparation for August 20, 2018

In the aftermath of Little’s arrest, UNC-CH students and others planned to gather off
campus at the Peace and Justice Plaza on August 20, 2018 to protest the continued existence
of the statue and to support Little. The Peace and Justice Plaza is located in the Town of
Chapel Hill across the street from the University and McCorkle Place. Silent Sam is
approximately 300 feet away from the Plaza. The event was scheduled for 7:00 pm. The
protest remained scheduled for August 20, 2018 even after Little’s court date was continued to
October 15, 2018. The protest was sandwiched between Convocation, which was scheduled
for August 19, 2018, and the start of classes on August 21, 2018.

1. Information Gathering: Social Media, Posters, Etc.

The initial pre-event information gathering effort for August 20 was headed by University
Police Sergeant Jake Kornegay, who was assisted by Officer Tiesha Williams. Sergeant
Kornegay is the special events coordinator with the University Police and is responsible for
coordinating UNC-CH’s law enforcement and safety response to large and small events on
campus, including protests. Both UNC-CH and ISAAC have relied on Sergeant Kornegay’s
significant expertise in event planning and assessment over the years.

Sergeant Kornegay first received information about the August 20 protest from Chief
McCracken at approximately 9:00 am on July 10, 2018. The information provided by the Chief
included the event’s Facebook page. Social media, including Facebook, has consistently been
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used by the University Police to estimate event attendance; however, multiple interviewees
commented that social media numbers have become increasingly less reliable in recent years.
Some University Police officers also speculated that actual event attendance skews higher than
Facebook estimates when left-leaning groups are involved, but that Facebook numbers tend to
be over-inflated with right-leaning groups. In any case, everyone agreed that social media
intelligence should never be viewed in a vacuum. However, it also needs to be stated that
Kornegay observed when demonstrations occur at night, as in 2017 and the one in 2018, more
problems or potential for violence or vandalism may occur.

The Facebook event page, entitled “Not One Left Standing,” described the event as “a
protest in solidarity with Maya Little who faces trial on the morning of this event for covering
Silent Sam in paint and her own blood. To all those who have fought and are fighting against
the white supremacy that UNC always promoted, benefited from, and upheld.” Sergeant
Kornegay forwarded the social media information to ISAAC at 9:46 am on July 10 and noted
that he needed to share the information with the Town of Chapel Hill, the County, and the
District Attorney’s office. He also informed Derek Kemp, his Chief’s immediate superior and
liaison to the UNC-CH administration. Kemp has held the position of Associate Vice Chancellor
for Safety and Risk Management at UNC-CH since August 3, 2015.3 Other officers at the
University Police were put on notice of the event through normal 9:00 am morning briefings.

The general trend saw increasing numbers of people both attending and interested in
the Facebook event as the protest date approached. By July 20, 2018, 70 people had RSVPed
as attending and 110 were marked as “interested.” By July 23, that number had increased to
120 RSVPs with 227 people interested in attending. By August 8, 156 had RSVPed and 356
were interested. By August 13, 185 were confirmed as attending.

On or about August 14, 2018, approximately one week before the anticipated protest,
Kemp sent an email to his direct supervisor, Jonathan Pruitt, as well as others in the
Chancellor’s office, including Amy Hertel, Winston Crisp, Joel Curran, Mark Merritt, Clayton
Somers, and Felicia Washington. Hertel is Chancellor Folt’s Chief of Staff. The email attached
a 2018 High Interest Events Calendar, which incorporated the most recent Facebook numbers.
It should be noted that Hertel stated, after checking her email correspondence, that she in fact
did not open the attachment to the email on July 17 because there was no attachment to the
email. According to the Calendar, as of August 14, 196 people had been marked as attending
with an additional 455 people interested in the August 20 event. The Calendar also included a
note that the numbers had steadily grown since July, interest would likely increase as students
returned to campus, and that the event would likely migrate from the Plaza to the monument.

A promotional flyer, entitled “Until They All Fall” also began to circulate in the weeks
before the protest and was displayed up and down Franklin Street as well as on campus. One
version of the poster featured a dedication to Little: “[This is] a demonstration against
institutional white supremacy at UNC, in solidarity with Maya Little on the day of her trial for
marking Silent Sam with her own blood.” There were other iterations of the poster, but all of
them featured a photo of Little being arrested on April 30 along with a picture of Silent Sam.

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Some of the posters also included a photo of the toppled Durham statue that had been pulled
down by demonstrators in 2017.

Several officers and some administrators recalled seeing the posters before August 20 in the Pit
and elsewhere on campus.

Somers was forwarded a copy of the black and white version of the poster by a contact
with the UDC on Tuesday, July 17, 2018. In the email, Somers’ UDC contact said that she felt
that “the ‘activists’ are plan[n]ing something that will certainly result in someone being hurt. I
hope that the Police will be in place and not repeat what happened in Durham.” Somers
responded that the University’s “police team is aware of the flyer and planned event and have
already begun preparing for it.” Somers then forwarded the email to Hertel, promising to follow
up with her the next day.4 However, the email inadvertently omitted the image of the poster.
Nevertheless, Somers recalls popping his head into Hertel’s office to confirm she received the
email. A copy of the July 17, 2018 email from Somers to Hertel is attached hereto as Exhibit G.

By 8:00 am on August 20, 2018, the Facebook numbers evidenced that 240 people were
attending and 652 were interested. By approximately 3:00 pm, four (4) hours before the protest,
259 were attending and 680 were interested. Although social media numbers for the protest
consistently increased over time, those numbers were ultimately discounted as inflated.

Despite the numbers on social media and the circulation of posters, several police
sources maintain that their information up to August 20 suggested that the event would be
sparsely attended (relying on discounted Facebook numbers) and comprised overwhelmingly of
Little’s supporters. In other words, no pro-monument groups were expected to attend, or at the
very least, not in large numbers. Instead, University Police claim that they expected that the

4
Following the toppling of the statue on the evening of August 20, 2018, Somers forwarded a copy of the
July 17, 2018 email (including the poster) to Hertel and Curran at 12:34 a.m. on August 21, 2018.
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protest would only involve anti-statue and pro-Little groups. Based on several interviews, this
observation became significant because it meant that the protest was perceived as being
unlikely to be as large or violent as events that feature two opposing groups. In hindsight, many
of these predictions fell short of reality.

2. Staffing

Based on the anticipated low turnout and the one-sided nature of the protest, only a
handful of officers were initially asked to be on duty for the evening of August 20, 2018. A call
was put out on Sign Up Genius, an electronic program which allows officers to volunteer for
assignments, approximately a week or two prior to the protest. Between four (4) to seven (7)
slots were designated for officers on Sign Up Genius. The original plan involved having five (5)
officers stationed at the Silent Sam monument with the remaining two (2) at the President’s
home. Several officers recall being surprised at the low number of people requested on Sign
Up Genius. Many assumed that like the October 2015 and August 2017 events, August 20
would similarly require a more significant force.

With respect to outside help, University Police had been corresponding with the Chapel
Hill Police Department for about a week prior to August 20. As a result of mutual aid
agreements between the two forces, Chief Blue told Chief McCracken that there would be
between thirty (30) to forty (40) Chapel Hill officers in reserve to address the demonstrators on
August 20, 2018. In their conversations prior to the protest, Chief McCracken recalls that Chief
Blue admitted that politics were involved and that his officers would only protect people rather
than the statue.

3. Barricades

According to several police and administrative sources, barricades are typically used in
cases where officials expect two opposing groups to attend the same event in order to keep
them separate. However, if only one type of group is expected, it was these sources’ position
that it is less likely that barricades need to be used. For August 20, 2018, Chief McCracken
originally recommended that bike rack barricades be used in the same two ring configuration
from August 22, 2017 in order to prevent vandalism to the confederate monument. However,
due to a confluence of events, barricades were not used on the evening of the protest.

As an initial matter, the established administrative reporting procedure was not followed
with regard to the August 20, 2018 protest. According to the University’s organizational chart,
Chief McCracken was supposed to confer with his direct report, Kemp, on all law enforcement
matters, including the planning and preparation for the August 20 event. Kemp was then
supposed to report the Chief’s plans to Pruitt, who has served as the Vice Chancellor of Finance
and Operations since the position was vacated by Matthew M. Fajack on January 29, 2018.
Pruitt was then supposed to report to Robert (“Bob”) Blouin, who would ultimately deliver the
Chief’s plans to the Chancellor’s Office. Blouin has served as UNC-CH’s Executive Vice
Chancellor/Provost since September 18, 2017.
However, neither
Pruitt nor Blouin were consulted about the August 20 event. Instead, Kemp reported directly to
Amy Hertel, the Chancellor’s Chief of Staff.

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According to Kemp, he began informally reporting directly to the Chancellor’s Chief of

Staff upon his arrival in 2015. At that time, the Chancellor’s Chief of Staff was Debbie Dibbert.
Kemp stated that Dibbert encouraged him to report to her directly on campus safety and
security issues and this relationship continued when Hertel replaced Dibbert in November 2017.
It is important to observe that Hertel was not involved in the decision to use or aware of the use
of barricades in either the October 2015 or August 2017 protests. Furthermore, August 20,
2018 was Hertel’s first large-scale Silent Sam event even though Hertel and Kemp stated she
was aware of peaceful demonstrations at the statue where bike barricades were not used
between November 2017 and August 2018. Kemp sent an email to Hertel and others on August
14, 2018 with an attachment referencing the upcoming August 20th protest and noting that 196
people were expected to attend. According to Hertel, the first time that barricades came up in
reference to August 20 was on Friday, August 17, 2018. At around 2:00 p.m. on Friday
afternoon, Hertel met with Kemp at her office in the South Building on UNC-CH’s campus.
During their conversation about the upcoming protest, Kemp informed Hertel that the police
intended to use bike barricades for the demonstration. The pair then began to discuss the
number of people and types of groups anticipated to attend. According to Hertel, Kemp relayed
that it was likely to be one-sided and that no more than one hundred (100) people were
expected. Although Kemp does not remember exact numbers being discussed he had
previously sent an email to Hertel and others noting that 196 people were expected to attend.
Given Hertel’s understanding of the information to date, Hertel questioned Kemp on the
propriety of whether barricades should be used. While there is significant evidence that
barricades can serve as force multipliers for police in controlling crowds, some perceived
barricades could also be optical eyesores. Hertel was also worried that the barricades might
increase attendance by curious onlookers and counter-protester extremist groups. Hertel was
also concerned that barricades might cause new students and their parents to fear for their
safety on move-in weekend. Hertel said she told Kemp at the end of the 2:00 p.m. meeting that
she would need to discuss the issue of the use of bike barricades further with the Chancellor.

It is unclear whether Chancellor Folt, whose office is next to Hertel’s, attended any part
of the Friday 2:00 p.m. meeting (though neither Hertel nor Kemp recall the Chancellor being at
the 2:00 p.m. meeting). Chancellor Folt recalls a brief meeting with Kemp, but is not certain
whether it was on Friday, August 17 or Monday, August 20. Kemp does not recall meeting with
Chancellor Folt on Friday, August 17. He does recall that he met with the Chancellor and Hertel
together on Monday, August 20. Chancellor Folt, Hertel, and Kemp’s accounts all differ on this
fact. Nevertheless, after Kemp left on the 17th, Hertel and the Chancellor discussed the plans
for the protest.

At 5:00 p.m. that same evening, Hertel called Kemp on his cellphone and indicated that
she had spoken with the Chancellor. According to Hertel, she told Kemp that the Chancellor did
not want to put the barricades up over the weekend, but suggested that the issue should be
reconsidered on Monday. Kemp, however, stated that no differentiation was ever made
between the use of barricades over the weekend versus on Monday, August 20. Instead, Kemp
recalls that Hertel told him that the Chancellor’s “preference” or “desire” was not to use the
barricades at all. Chancellor Folt did not believe that she addressed the issue in those terms,
but is confident that she did not issue a directive or order not to use barricades on August 20.
Although Kemp considered calling Chief McCracken to notify him of Chancellor Folt’s decision
that evening, he waited until he could talk to the Chief in person the next day.

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On Saturday, August 18, 2018, there was an open UNC-CH football practice for UNC-
CH law enforcement and other first responders and their families to meet the team. Kemp,
Chief McCracken, and Captain Twiddy were all in attendance. While at the practice, Kemp
relayed his conversations with Hertel to Chief McCracken. He told the Chief that the Chancellor
did not want barricades to be used on August 20, 2018 because of what it would look like to
students and their parents on the first weekend of the academic year.5.i Although the Chief was
skeptical, he did not expressly overrule or insist that Kemp revisit the use of barricades with the
Chancellor’s Office. Instead, the Chief told Captain Twiddy to cancel the order for barricades
that would have otherwise been deployed on Sunday, August 19, 2018. In looking back at that
conversation, Kemp admits it would not surprise him if Chief McCracken took Kemp’s statement
about the Chancellor’s message as a directive. Kemp then sent Hertel a text message stating
that the barricades would not be installed on Sunday. Hertel thanked Kemp and stated that they
would talk again on Monday.

On Sunday, August 19, 2018, at 3:59 p.m., Captain Twiddy notified Officer Williams that
there would be no barricades for the August 20 event.
, Officer Williams was responsible for putting together the operations
plan for the protest the next day.
She had only previously planned for
football and basketball games. After receiving the news from Captain Twiddy, Officer Williams
texted Sergeant Kornegay at 4:03 p.m. asking who had made the decision not to use the
barricades. Sergeant Kornegay responded that he did not know and this was the first he was
hearing about it. Officer Williams proceeded to text several officers to clarify the use of
barricades. At that point in time, the consensus was that the decision had been made by the
Chief.

4. Pre-Protest Administrative and Police Meetings on August 20, 2018

At their normal 9:00 a.m. briefing on August 20, 2018, University Police officers received
updates on the latest information on the protest in addition to other police business. By this
time, it was clear to several officers that the event would require more staffing than initially
anticipated. Several officers noted that the 9:00 a.m. briefing left them feeling apprehensive and
uneasy about the protest later that day.

Kemp also met with Hertel the morning of the 20th to discuss the UNC-CH Police’s
information to date. According to Hertel, she asked Kemp for an update on whether barricades
were warranted and was told that because the intelligence had not changed, neither had the
need for barricades.

At approximately 10:00 a.m., Joel Curran, UNC-CH’s Vice Chancellor of

Communications had one of his bi-weekly meetings with his team to go over upcoming high
interest events. This included Kemp presenting on the August 20, 2018 protest. Hertel was

5
It is unclear whether Kemp used the word ”preference” or “opinion” in his statement to the Chief on
August 18 when describing the Chancellor’s position as related through Hertel regarding the use of bike
barricades on August 20 but it is clear the Chief believed it to be an order from the Chancellor not to use
bike barricades the evening of the demonstration.

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also in attendance. However, Hertel does not recall whether Facebook numbers were actually
discussed at this meeting. Nevertheless, Kemp’s notes that he would have reviewed at this
meeting reflect that numbers of people both interested and attending the protest had steadily
increased from July through August 20, 2018.

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on August 20, 2018, Chief McCracken, the Captains,
Sergeant Keith Ellington, Officer Matthew Dodson, and Officer Williams met in the Staff
Development Room to discuss further planning and preparation for the event. Sergeant
Kornegay was driving back from the beach, but was conferenced in via telephone. Officer
Dodson recalls telling Sergeant Kornegay and Captain Twiddy that between three to four
hundred (300-400) ACTBAC supporters were planning to attend the protest that evening.
However, Officer Dodson recalls that this information was discounted as likely inaccurate. The
group had also become acutely aware of the fact that additional officers would need to be
recruited for the evening. Chief McCracken decided to put Officer Dodson’s squad of seven (7)
officers on notice that they would be held over from their normal shift to participate.

Kemp also provided a final update to Hertel in her office in the early afternoon.
According to Kemp, it was a quick, five- (5) minute meeting. Chancellor Folt also popped in to
see Hertel and caught part of their conversation. Hertel was concerned with how many officers
were available for deployment that evening. According to Kemp, he told Hertel that about seven
(7) to eight (8) officers were ready to be deployed and that they were stationed in the field at
cardinal points. Kemp also maintains that Hertel never asked if the anticipated numbers of
attendees had increased. When asked about outside agency support, Hertel says that Kemp
told them that the Town of Chapel Hill was sending police to patrol their side of Franklin Street
and would be on standby if necessary. Hertel was also under the impression that the Orange
County Sheriff’s Office would be attending for back-up support. Chancellor Folt recalls asking
whether the information on the event had changed and whether she should remain on campus.
Kemp does not recall barricades explicitly coming up in this conversation; he does recall the
Chancellor expressing a desire for a warm welcoming atmosphere for the beginning of the year.
Both Hertel and Chancellor Folt recall asking Kemp whether or not they should stay for the
demonstration; however, they remember they were told they could go home. It is unclear
whether Chancellor Folt was ever given the numbers pulled from social media and she denies
having ever seen an event poster before the protest.6.

At 5:00 p.m., the University Police held an official briefing regarding the upcoming event.
Approximately eighteen (18) officers were in attendance. The Chief delivered the briefing and
handed out the ops plan developed by Officer Williams. The ops plan noted that although there
was no way of knowing an approximate crowd size, previous rallies of this nature had occurred
in the area and involved between two hundred (200) and two thousand (2000) people. Several
officers noted that they were confused and uncomfortable after hearing that barricades would
not be used. Upon asking the Chief about that decision, some interviewees recall that they
were told that it was made by someone in the South Building. This was widely understood to
mean the Chancellor’s office. However, other interviewees maintain that they only found out
about the South Building’s involvement after August 20. The Chief ended the thirty (30) minute
6
When shown a poster of the August 20 demonstration at her interview, the Chancellor stated that it was
the first time she had seen one and that if she had seen it prior to the demonstration on August 20 it
would have possibly changed her mind regarding the use of bike barricades the evening of August 20.

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briefing by emphasizing that the police’s primary goal was to protect people rather than an
inanimate object if the environment became unsafe.

Following the briefing, twenty-two (22) UNC-CH officers (including Captains,

Lieutenants, and Sergeants) were sent into the field to prepare for the event at around 6:00 pm.
The majority of the officers staged in Graham Memorial and Hyde Hall so as not to prematurely
show an excessive amount of force. Chief McCracken, Sergeant Kornegay, Chief Blue, and
several others staged in the UNC-CH mobile command bus.

G. August 20, 2018- The Protest

Protesters began gathering at the Peace and Justice Plaza between 4:00 and 6:00 pm
on August 20, 2018. Four (4) large grey and white banners held up with large bamboo poles
were placed as a backdrop for the main speakers in front of the Old Post Office façade. One of
the backdrops read: “For A World Without White Supremacy.” Another listed victims of racial
violence, beginning with “Unnamed Black woman beaten by Julian Carr.” Yet another read:
“Not One More.”

By 6:52 pm, three (3) to four (4) individuals wearing American/Confederate flag t-shirts
were spotted by University Police in the Plaza. However, they were far outnumbered by the
protesters. Protest organizers also started to hand out Tar Heel blue bandanas that included a
depiction of the statue, the three arrow symbol, and the words “Sam Must Fall.” The three
arrow symbol, or the ‘dreipfeil’, commonly symbolizes socialist militancy and is associated with
Antifa.

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The protest began in earnest at 7:00 pm. By 7:06 pm, Sergeant Kornegay noted that
approximately one hundred fifty (150) protesters (and growing) were in the Plaza with
approximately six (6) pro-monument group members. By 7:10 pm, other posters and banners
were seen in the crowd. One banner read: “John Brown Lives! Smash White Supremacy” and
included an image of John Brown and the Circle-A anarchy symbol. Another read “The Whole
World Is Watching, Which Side Are You On?” and included the three arrow symbol.

Several speakers proceeded to address the crowd, including Maya Little. By this time, internal
text messages and interviewees indicated that approximately two hundred (200) to three
hundred-fifty (350) people were at the Plaza. Seven (7) to eight (8) news outlets, including but
not limited to the Associated Press, the News & Observer, WCHL, WTVD, WRAL & DTH,
WNCN, and Spectrum were also there. A WRAL helicopter hovered overhead.

At approximately 7:44 pm, the crowd started to cross Franklin Street towards McCorkle
Place and Silent Sam. Approximately eight (8) officers were placed in the field at points around
McCorkle. The crowd brought their posters and banners with them, including the four (4) large
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grey and white backdrops on bamboo poles. Some officers claim that the poles were used as
jouster’s lances; however, others denied this occurred.

As the crowd began to cross onto campus, a couple University Police officers noticed
that protesters were wearing masks to cover their faces. This included the Tar Heel blue
bandanas handed out earlier by protest organizers at the Peace and Justice Plaza. Under
North Carolina law, it is illegal for anyone over the age of sixteen (16) to wear a mask or hood to
conceal one’s identity in certain public places. N.C.G.S.. § 14-12.7. University Police started
confronting the mask-wearers and asked them to remove their bandanas.

At first, the crowd was compliant. However, one demonstrator from Vilas, NC, refused
Captain Twiddy’s request to remove his mask. Many officers have observed that effecting an
arrest in the middle of a crowd can be difficult because of potential resistance from the arrestee
and the crowd, who often attempt to distract, dissuade, or physically prevent the arrest. This is
exactly what occurred here.

When Captain Twiddy attempted to arrest the demonstrator from Vilas, NC, a melee
ensued. Captain Twiddy was soon on the ground wrestling with protesters as he attempted to
effect the arrest. Officer Bob Gerringer attempted to help effectuate the arrest, but was grabbed
from behind and engaged by two more protesters. Officer Shane Hardenberger ran to help
Captain Twiddy. Officer Matthew Dodson and Officer John Ross attempted to hold back other
members of the crowd, but Officer Gerringer was subsequently punched in the back of the
head. Officer Dodson then ran over to ensure that Officer Gerringer was okay as another
Sergeant attempted to chase after the individual who punched Officer Gerringer. The individual
who punched Officer Gerringer got away. Officer Pedro Vasquez was also assaulted. In the
commotion, the arrest teams got separated from one another in the crowd. At some point, a
protester threw a smoke bomb and Officer Dodson yelled for help on the radio. All University
officers that had been staged in Hyde and Graham then rushed out to assist.

In the midst of the melee, Chief McCracken requested mutual aid from the Chapel Hill
Police Department at 7:49 p.m. Chief Blue responded by sending a six (6) member squad.
Chief Blue recalls that this was part of a “layered” response, whereby if more Chapel Hill officers
were requested, he could supplement the initial squad. There are unverified reports that more
Chapel Hill Police Department officers attempted to respond to the call for help, but were turned
back by their superior officers in the Franklin Street area. No further requests were made by
Chief McCracken for Chapel Hill Police support that evening.7

The masked demonstrator from Vilas, NC was eventually arrested, detained, and
transported to Graham Memorial Hall. Several officers speculated that the melee was used to
divert the officers’ attention so that the protesters could establish control over the statue. While
the officers were distracted, the protesters quickly encircled the statue with the four (4) grey and
white backdrops, which were then tied together with zip ties and anchored to the ground with
stakes and ropes. The backdrops fit the space perfectly and completely obscured the view of
the statue. However, the bodies of protesters could be seen climbing up and down the
monument through the fabric. Many other demonstrators proceeded to link arms in three rings
7
Chief McCracken stated in his first interview that he was aware that only six Chapel Hill police officers
were deployed by Chief Blue when McCracken requested the resource aid from Blue.

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around the monument and began to chant: “stand up, fight back” and “hey, hey, ho, ho, this
racist statue has got to go.” Several other large banners were used to surround the protesters
and further obstruct the view of Silent Sam. These included the “John Brown Lives! Smash
White Supremacy” and “The Whole World Is Watching, Which Side Are You On?” banners.
Almost every officer we talked to indicated that the event was unlike prior protests in that it was
carried out in a highly organized manner and included a number of outside protesters and non-
students.

The chanting continued for approximately one hour as the sun set and McCorkle Place
was shrouded in darkness. During this period of time, the police officers on the scene
monitored the crowd and attempted to use their body cameras to record the protesters’ actions
for later prosecution if warranted. All of the officers we interviewed believed that it would have
been impossible for University Police to break through the rings of protesters without resorting
to extreme physical violence. Even if they could have broken the line, they emphasized that
doing so would likely have resulted in physical injury to both officers and demonstrators alike.
However, we found no evidence of any order by police to stand down or retreat from the statue
at this time.

At 8:56 pm, UNC-CH Police officers began to hear that Silent Sam had been covered in
red paint. Four minutes later, at 9:00 pm, the majority of the crowd left the statue to march up
Franklin Street towards the Columbia and Franklin Street intersection. A small group of
protesters and an even smaller number of counter-protesters remained at McCorkle Place. The
crowd left the four (4) main backdrop tarps up when they headed down the street. The UNC-CH
Police then seized upon the opportunity to retake Silent Sam. Chief Blue and his Chapel Hill
Police Department then focused on protecting the Town of Chapel Hill. The original six (6)
person Chapel Hill squad remained with the University Police.

Between fifteen (15) to twenty-eight (28) officers then surrounded the statue8. This
included both University officers and the six (6) Chapel Hill Police Department officers.
However, the police were unable to stand close enough to have their shoulders touch. Several
witnesses mentioned that a handful of counter-protesters, including an elderly woman, stood in
front of the officers to help fill the gaps. The officers then proceeded to look under the grey and
white banners, but made no attempt to cut them down. Chief McCracken suggested that the
banners were not cut due to concerns that the bamboo poles could be used as weapons by
demonstrators. A handful of officers recall a foul, acid-type smell; however, this was not
significantly corroborated. Multiple officers confirmed that red paint had been thrown on the
pedestal.

At approximately 9:14 pm, the majority of the protesters started to make their way back
to Silent Sam. The crowd was hostile and physical. A number of the officers stated that this
was one of the only times in their careers where they felt scared for their and other persons’
safety. The crowd then began to throw frozen water bottles and eggs at the officers surrounding
the statue. The officers were not outfitted in riot gear (helmets, shields, and batons) and so only
had their regular uniforms to protect them. Although a couple of officers noted that riot gear had
been staged in a van in the Swain parking lot, it was not easily accessible. At least two (2)
8
It is unclear from our interviews and general assessment exactly how many officers surrounded the
statue at this time.

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officers were hit with frozen water bottles. Fearing for the safety of the officers and others,
Captain Twiddy gave the order to “pull out” to protect his officers at approximately 9:17 pm.
Thereafter, the officers dispersed to the periphery of the crowd and continued to monitor and
gather video evidence for later prosecution.

At 9:21 pm, a rope was seen being tied around the statue. At 9:22 pm the statue was
pulled down. Immediately following the toppling, several officers and witnesses described the
crowd’s mood as celebratory.9 It should be noted that it is extremely fortunate no one was
injured or killed when the statue was toppled. This was, in large part, due to actions taken by an
undercover police officer at the scene who moved people out of the way when it was apparent
the statue would be toppled. Once the statue was felled, UNC-CH Police quickly made their
way over to form a ring around the monument in order to prevent further damage. Several
onlookers took photos while protesters continued to chant and celebrate. It then began to rain
heavily and most of the crowd dispersed to avoid the weather. Facilities was called to pick up
the statue and Silent Sam was taken early on the morning of August 21 to a secure location.

In addition to the masked demonstrator arrested in the early melee, five (5) other
individuals were arrested or currently have orders out for their arrest as a result of the August
20, 2018 protest. The office of the Orange County District Attorney plans to move forward on
the prosecution of all cases (involving charges arising out of demonstrations at the
statue/memorial on UNC-CH’s campus that occurred on August 20 (and the August 25, 30, and
September 8 protests that occurred thereafter) and will evaluate each case individually and
weigh the evidence to determine a proper disposition as to each one.

H. The Aftermath of August 20, 2018

In the immediate aftermath of the statue’s removal, members of the UNC-CH Police,
UNC-CH administration, the University System, and members of the public clamored for
answers as to how and why the forcible removal of Silent Sam was allowed to occur. There has
been widespread speculation that perhaps the UNC-CH administration conspired with
protesters to facilitate the statue’s toppling. However, we have been unable to find any
evidence to support this theory. Instead, the relevant parties have all worked diligently to
account for what happened and to address how best to move forward.

At 10:48 pm on August 20, 2018, Chancellor Folt released a statement through UNC-
CH’s Twitter account about the toppling of Silent Sam. A copy of Chancellor Folt’s August 20,
2018 tweet is attached hereto as Exhibit H. This was followed on Tuesday, August 21, 2018,
by a statement from University Communications, which was drafted, in large part, by Chancellor
Folt. The August 21 Statement included the following sentence: “During the event, we rely on
the experience and judgment of law enforcement to make decisions on the ground, keeping
safety as the top priority.” This sentence was cited by the majority of the officers interviewed as
being critical of the University Police’s response to the protest and as deflecting blame away
from the administration and onto the police. A copy of the August 21, 2018 University
Communications Statement is attached hereto as Exhibit I.

9
It was unclear from our review how many people were involved in actually pulling the statue down.

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Members of the UNC-CH administration and the UNC-CH Police then engaged in a
series of meetings to determine the facts and root causes around the August 20 protest. At one
of the internal administrative meetings on Tuesday, August 21 at 8:00 am, Kemp and Chief
McCracken were invited to attend. Chancellor Folt asked Kemp directly about his
understanding of their barricades conversation. According to witnesses in the room, Kemp said
that the Chancellor had expressed her preference not to use the barricades if they were not
necessary, but that, it was taken as a directive. However, when asked the
follow up question of whether or not he ever felt that he could use the barricades if they became
necessary, Kemp responded that he had no problem using them and would not seek permission
if they were needed. In other words, despite the Chancellor’s preference for not using
barricades, Kemp would have felt comfortable countermanding that preference. According to
Blouin, Chief McCracken’s answer on this was less clear. Since then, Chief McCracken has
said that he interpreted Kemp’s message from the Chancellor’s office as an order, but admitted
that he could have made efforts to countermand it if he had felt it was necessary. The
Chancellor has always maintained her message was never a directive or an order, but was
rather a desire based upon her understanding of the intelligence and her belief that law
enforcement ultimately makes the decisions on the ground.

Unsatisfied with the answers provided at the Monday meeting, Blouin and Pruitt were
asked to schedule a meeting with Kemp and Chief McCracken to better understand the
sequence of events. This meeting took place on Wednesday, August 22, 2018. According to
Blouin, Kemp and Chief McCracken answered approximately one and half hours of questions.
A second day of interviews occurred where UNC-CH General Counsel Mark Merritt joined
Blouin and Pruitt in asking additional questions of Kemp and Chief McCracken. Through these
interviews, the administration learned, among other things, that the intelligence leading up to the
August 20, 2018 event was inadequate. While a low impact event primarily made up of
students and Little’s friends was expected, the actual protest was far bigger, more violent, and
involved an extremely well organized group intent on pulling the statue down. According to
Blouin, Kemp and Chief McCracken relied heavily on social media, but depreciated the crowd
size estimates. In hindsight, however, the Facebook estimates were met or exceeded by the
actual crowd on August 20. Several officers also suggested that the size of the crowd was
difficult to anticipate because the protesters probably used specialized mobile applications like
Telegram, an encrypted cloud-based communications application, to secretly communicate with
one another.

On or about Thursday, August 2310, 2018, UNC-CH Police officers met with Chief
McCracken to get their own questions answered about the August 20 protest. Many of the
officers felt that they had been set up to fail and were placed in a dangerous situation to which
they were unprepared to respond. At this meeting, the Chief reported that he had originally
requested the use of barricades on the 20th, but that the Chancellor’s Office had not taken his
recommendation. Officers left this meeting with mixed feelings- some resenting the
administration, others feeling disappointment in the Chief.

10
It is unclear from interviews whether this meeting occurred on Wednesday, August 22 or Thursday
August 23. What is most important is that it was a meeting called by Captains Bullock and Twiddy as a
result of many officers expressing frustration with the lack of resources leading to the statue being toppled
and the Chancellor’s second email issued on August 21, which officers interpreted as being critical of
UNC-CH police actions taken the evening of August 20.
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The next day, on Friday, August 24, 2018, President Spellings and Chancellor Folt met
with University Police officers.
.

I. August 25, 2018

Following the events of the 20th,the UNC-CH Police became increasingly concerned that
pro-monument groups would seek to retaliate. The first of these protests was scheduled for
10:00 am on Saturday, August 25, 2018. Pro-monument groups wished to lay wreaths in front
of the now-empty pedestal. In anticipation of this event, an ops plan was developed in advance
by Sergeant Kornegay. As part of this plan, bike rack barricades were placed around the
pedestal in two concentric circles in addition to around the Old Well and the Unsung Founders
monument. The UNC-CH Police Department worked in conjunction with the Chapel Hill Police
Department as well as other law enforcement agencies and emergency response units from
around the State. Most notably, this included the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department,
who lent their Mobile Force and bike squad for the occasion.

The event was reportedly attended by several pro-monument groups. There were also
counter-protesters. Approximately one hundred (100) people were in the crowd and there were
seven on-site arrests. Three (3) people were arrested for assault; two (2) were arrested for
vandalism and injuring property; one (1) was arrested for resisting arrest; and one (1) was
arrested for inciting a riot and resisting arrest. None of the arrestees were affiliated with UNC-
CH. There are currently two (2) additional criminal summons that have been served. No
serious injuries were reported.

J. August 30, 2018

On Thursday, August 30, 2018 ACTBAC planned to hold an evening vigil at the Silent
Sam pedestal. In preparing for this event, Sergeant Kornegay reached out to an ACTBAC
contact who provided information on the anticipated number of attendees from his group.
University Police also relied upon social media. According to email correspondence between
Philip Jones and Kemp (CCing others), thirty-eight (38) people were marked as attending the
evening vigil and between one hundred twenty (120) and one hundred twenty-five (125) were
interested in the event. Rather than the two concentric circles, Chief McCracken suggested a
new barricade formation that involved an inner ring around the pedestal and a horseshoe of bike
rack barricades around it. This allowed the vigil holders to come close to the pedestal while at
the same time insulating them from all sides and ensuring a single open entrance and exit. This
event also utilized help from outside forces, principally Greensboro’s Mobile Field Force and
bike squad.

The bike rack barricades were set up at approximately 5:48 pm in anticipation of the
protest. Also, it was anticipated the demonstration would continue after dark so bright mobile
light units were stationed around the site of the demonstration to dissuade demonstrators from
doing something inappropriate simply because their activities may not be detected at night time.
The Greensboro bike squad also formed a cordon with their bicycles to allow ACTBAC and their
supporters to reach the pedestal. When it came time for the event, between two hundred (200)
and three hundred (300) people gathered at McCorkle Place to protest for and against Silent
Sam. This included ACTBAC, but also a larger contingent of counter-protesters who had
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gathered for a “dance party” to celebrate the fall of the statue. The police managed to keep the
two sides separate; the Greensboro police utilized several new and effective tactics, including
using bikes as wedges to separate the groups and using a single deployment pepper fogger.
Three (3) arrests occurred at this demonstration.

K. September 8, 2018

The Saturday, September 8, 2018 event started as a pro-monument event, but turned
into an opposition event when anti-monument demonstrators decided to stage a potluck and
canned food drive. The event was briefed by the University Police at 2:30 pm and the potluck
began at around 4:00 or 4:30 pm. A pro-monument group was scheduled to arrive
approximately one hour later, between 5:00 and 7:00 pm. Like the August 30, 2018 event, the
horseshoe barricade configuration was utilized. In addition, to help minimize the use of
projectiles, Chief McCracken decided that all canned goods were to be placed in receptacle bins
staged in four corners around the perimeter of McCorkle Place. Also helping keep the two sides
separate were additional officers provided by the Chapel Hill Police, the Orange County Sheriff’s
Department, and UNC-CH’s sister schools from the University System.

Only ten (10) to eleven (11) pro-monument individuals initially showed up (a couple more
arrived late). The anti-monument demonstrators far outnumbered them and were kept from the
pedestal by barricades and bikes. When the pro monument group wanted to leave, they were
escorted back towards the parking lot through the opening of the horseshoe. Officers attempted
to push the anti-monument demonstrators back; however, a few managed to get past the bikes
and bike rack barricades. A brawl ensued and smoke grenades were thrown by protesters.
Sergeant Kornegay secured an arrest warrant for the individual who threw the smoke grenade.
However, in effecting the arrest, the crowd fought back. A young woman spit at Sergeant
Kornegay and she was subsequently arrested. In the process, a protester kicked Sergeant
Kornegay and knocked him down. Multiple skirmishes ensued. The officers attempted to throw
smoke to dissuade the crowd, which continued to try to fight their way into the officers’ staging
areas to prevent arrests. The smoke was not effective. Eventually, the pro-monument
demonstrators were pushed out to the street. Eight (8) on-site arrests were made for a variety
of different charges. Over the demonstrations that occurred on August 20, 25, 30 and
September 8, a total of twenty-six (26) arrests were made.

IV. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

FINDING NO. 1: INEFFICIENT REPORTING STRUCTURES LED TO

FUNDAMENTAL MISCOMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN UNIVERSITY POLICE AND UNC-CH
SENIOR LEADERSHIP.

UNC-CH administrative leadership almost uniformly said that law enforcement decisions
should be made by the University Police. However, that position was either not fully understood
or not properly communicated. The Chief typically does not report directly to the Chancellor’s
office. Instead, the Chief filters his event plans through an official administrative reporting
structure. This reporting structure can sometimes lead to miscommunications. This is exactly
what happened on August 20, 2018.

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Under the reporting structure in place at the time, Chief McCracken was supposed to
report his plans for August 20 to Kemp, who would then report up the chain through Pruitt,
Blouin, and finally to the Chancellor’s office. However, Kemp skipped Pruitt and Blouin and
provided an informal direct report to Hertel. This completely disregarded the official reporting
chain; however, even if Kemp had reported properly, it would not have remedied a fundamental
issue: that
Without the ability to provide meaningful feedback, the
reporting chain is inefficient and ineffective because the Chief’s law enforcement plans and
recommendations are disseminated through numerous reports until the Chancellor’s office
receives a filtered version. The informal report from Kemp to Hertel does not correct this
problem..

In this case, breakdowns in communication undercut the effectiveness of the Chief’s

decision-making authority. The Chief was very clear that his professional instincts were to use
barricades on August 20, even if it was just to help prevent the statue from being vandalized.
The Chief should have been able to more directly communicate law enforcement needs with top
University officials. By not having a direct conversation, miscommunication was allowed to
proliferate. Notably, however, the Chief acknowledged that if he had felt strongly enough about
an issue (such as the use of barricades), then he believed that he would have been able to raise
it again directly and only with Kemp..

RECOMMENDATION FOR FINDING NO. 1: Key decision-makers must meet and

confer to discuss major campus events. This means that the Chief of the University Police
Department must be given the latitude and discretion to directly contact the Chancellor when a
major event involving law enforcement is scheduled to occur. Conversely, the Chancellor needs
to take direct responsibility for communications with the Chief and cannot leave it to her Chief of
Staff or other administrators. The circumstances surrounding this direct report should be
clarified and made explicit in a memorandum or policy statement. We recommend that this
statement clearly outline how responsibility is delegated.

More specifically, the Chief of Police should have the lead responsibility for planning,
scheduling, and leading a briefing for the Chancellor and key administrative staff members
when the University Police is planning operations for a high-risk, high-liability event requiring law
enforcement operations. When possible, a detailed operational plan would be available for
everyone’s review. The purpose of the briefing is not to allow UNC-CH’s administrators to give
direction to the Chief on how law enforcement operations should be handled; rather, it is to
ensure that the Chief is able to brief the Chancellor and others on the department’s operational
plans and to seek input and administrative support for any upcoming operations. Any UNC-CH
administrators involved, including senior leadership, should also receive training on basic law
enforcement event-planning protocols so that they are familiar with the processes and
procedures and can provide meaningful feedback on any recommendations.

At minimum, the following administrators should be in attendance:

• Chief of Police;
• Chancellor;
• Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost;
• Chancellor’s Chief of Staff;
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• Associate Vice Chancellor for Security and Risk Management;

• Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs;
• Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs;
• Vice Chancellor for Communications; and
• Vice Chancellor for Finance and Operations.
Approaching the process this way will help to manage police and administrative
expectations, while simultaneously ensuring accurate communication.

FINDING NO. 2: INFORMATION-GATHERING RESPONSIBILITIES SHOULD BE

SHARED BY MULTIPLE, DEDICATED OFFICERS.

Sergeant Kornegay
was frequently relied upon by UNC-CH and
ISAAC for his information-gathering capabilities. However, his job description (special events
coordinator) is both amorphous and extensive, which often pulled him in a variety of different
directions. Centralizing information-gathering functions into a single officer was particularly
problematic for August 20, when Sergeant Kornegay was out of town the weekend prior to the
protest. Without Sergeant Kornegay, event preparations were left to Officer Williams,
was expected to develop a comprehensive operational
plan. While Officer Williams had been assisting Sergeant Kornegay
. We believe that Officer
Williams did the best she could do with the information available to her at that time; however,
Chief McCracken should have recognized these gaps and pre-emptively addressed them prior
to the August 20 protest.

RECOMMENDATION FOR FINDING NO. 2: Rather than having a single officer

primarily charged with gathering and analyzing upcoming event information, the burden should
be shared among several officers. Developing and analyzing actionable intelligence is more
than a one-person job. University Police leadership should recognize the important function that
information and intelligence play in responding to campus events, and prioritize these positions.

One of the most important responsibilities of these new special events coordinators will
be to gather intelligence and draft operational plans. The officers responsible for gathering
intelligence for a particular event should be directly responsible for the accompanying plan. All
special events coordinators should be provided with advanced training, when available, to
ensure that the operational plans are adequately prepared and supported. In addition to typical
sources (including social media), a thorough intelligence review should be undertaken which
analyzes similar crowd control incidents involving law enforcement agencies locally and across
the country. Particular attention should be paid to college-campus forces, as they are the most
similar to the University Police Department. These operational plans should be developed in
advance and used by the Chief to brief the Chancellor and administrators on upcoming events.
The plans should also be circulated to all officers involved.

FINDING NO. 3: INFORMATION-GATHERING WAS INEFFICIENT AND

INADEQUATE.

Enough red flags existed prior to August 20 to suggest that Silent Sam would be forcibly
removed. The outcomes of other protests in Durham and Charlottesville, the greater political
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climate, and UNC-CH’s own history with Confederate monuments and structures, should have
placed the University Police and UNC-CH senior leadership on notice that there would be
attempts to topple Silent Sam. However, information gathering efforts in preparation for August
20, in particular, were inefficient and inadequate.

First, University Police placed undue emphasis on their own prior information-gathering
tactics, perhaps assuming that they would continue to work despite changes in crowd dynamics.
Claiming that barricades are only used for opposing forces in these instances is an improper
assumption and was so even prior to the August 20 demonstration. As August 20
demonstrated, a large contingent of protesters from one side (even if there were a couple
counter protesters) could still warrant the force multiplying power of barricades.

Furthermore, the University Police continued to disproportionately focus on social media,

even though several officers indicated that social media has become increasingly less reliable in
estimating actual event attendance. Questions of reliability aside, the information available on
Facebook prior to the protest suggested that hundreds of people were planning to attend (or
were interested in attending) the August 20 event. More troubling was that the numbers steadily
increased over time. At minimum, this information should have been regularly shared and
distributed so that crowd estimates could be corroborated with other forms of intelligence.
Simply assuming that Facebook numbers will be inaccurate is an insufficient explanation for
why they were downplayed, ignored, or simply not communicated to UNC-CH leadership.

In addition, flyers regarding the August 20 demonstration were displayed in and around
UNC-CH’s campus and emailed to at least one administrator on July 17, 2018. These flyers
were observed by officers and administrators within days of the actual event. Nevertheless,
several interviewees claimed that they never expected protesters to try to bring the statue down.
This seems unlikely given the title of the poster, “Until They All Fall.” Read in conjunction with
the photo of Little’s arrest, and, in particular, the image of the downed Durham statue, the
posters should have left little doubt as to the protesters’ intention for that evening. However, it
remains unclear whether those that saw the posters escalated them up the chain so that key
decision-makers could determine their value and act accordingly. For example, when Somers
received a copy of the poster on July 17, 2018 and attempted to forward it, why did none of the
recipients on that email ask follow-up questions or forward the intelligence to the Chancellor?
Similarly, why did the University Police or Kemp not send copies of these posters to the
Chancellor directly? The Chancellor claims that she did not see copies of either poster until an
after-action assessment following August 20. Had she known about the posters, the Chancellor
said that she would have reconsidered her original position on the use of barricades. This was
a significant missed opportunity and one that could have easily been remedied.

Finally, it was known that the demonstrators would be gathering at a time just before
dusk and most likely continue their demonstration into the night. It was also anticipated that
they would be moving their demonstration from Peace and Justice Plaza, in Chapel Hill proper,
just off campus, to McCorkle Place and the statue at some point that evening.

In sum, information-gathering efforts were inefficient (in that vital intelligence was
downplayed, ignored, or inconsistently communicated) and inadequate (in that key-decision
makers were operating without full and accurate information). These failures culminated in the

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gross-underestimation of crowd size, which impacted University Police staffing, equipment, and
overall preparedness.

RECOMMENDATION FOR FINDING NO. 3: While social media is a valuable resource,

it cannot be relied upon alone. The same goes for the reliance on historical tactics and strategy.
Interestingly, if more credence had been placed upon the Facebook numbers on August 20 and
the fact that it was to be an evening demonstration, perhaps the result would have been
different because more officers could have been placed on duty with riot gear and barricades
would not have been such a large part of the debate.

The fact remains that a wide variety of intelligence sources need to be consulted and
analyzed in advance of events. This includes constantly monitoring related events locally and
around the country, keeping an eye on traditional and emerging social media and
communication practices, as well as using human intelligence. It also means continuing to
collaborate with ISAAC, the Fusion Center, and sister campuses to make sure that information-
gathering tactics, techniques, and strategies remain up-to-date. Regular training should be
given to those who engage in information-gathering efforts on behalf of the University Police for
the same reasons.

Furthermore, this information needs to be shared and disseminated with all interested
parties. UNC-CH administrators and senior leadership need to receive regular updates from law
enforcement on expected attendance and how this will inform operational strategy. The Chief
should provide any pertinent information and recommendations directly to the Chancellor during
these meetings. This will help to ensure that both law enforcement and administrators are
having discussions and making decisions based on the same set of information.

Finally, following a crowd control event, post-event or after-action assessments need to

be conducted as a matter of policy. The University Police should require an internal debriefing
meeting immediately after major campus events. As a direct result of this debriefing, a written
after-action report should be drafted. These reports serve as “lessons learned” documents, can
be consulted during future information-gathering efforts, and help to guide future operations.

FINDING NO. 4: OFFICERS WERE INSUFFICIENTLY TRAINED IN CROWD

CONTROL TECHNIQUES GIVEN CHALLENGES FACED BY UNC-CH.

Many officers were unable to determine when they last took a course in crowd control
techniques and tactics. In fact, there has been no mandated training of University Police
officers in crowd control for a number of years. Although crowd control training was offered in
February of 2016 by the University System in conjunction with a Greensboro Police Department
program, only two (2) officers from each constituent university were invited to attend.

UNC-CH alone enrolls over 29,000 students. Given the campus population, UNC-CH’s
well-known sports teams, the wide variety of events on campus and the involvement of outside
groups demonstrating on campus the lack of consistently updated crowd control training is a
glaring omission in the University Police’s continuing education curriculum. The lack of crowd
control training meant that officers were ill-prepared to face the hundreds of demonstrators on
August 20, 2018, especially given that many of the protesters were non-student members of
professional protest groups.

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RECOMMENDATION FOR FINDING NO. 4: The University Police should institute

ongoing department-wide training for crowd control planning and operations to ensure the
department has acquired and maintained the skills necessary to respond to future crowd control
situations. Providing crowd control operations requires specific cognitive, affective and
psychomotor skills that are perishable. This means that ongoing training throughout an officer’s
career is required to help ensure operations run smoothly and appropriately during actual crowd
control situations. We recommend that this training cover the following non-exhaustive list of
topics:

• The potential use of a wide variety of crowd control tactics (barricades, shields,
bicycle officer details, motorcycles, horse mounted units, etc.);
• The use of crowd control formations for officers;
• Arrest and extraction techniques for arresting individuals located within a crowd;
• Using less-lethal crowd control devices (chemical agents, smoke, etc.); and
• Implementing de-escalation techniques when interacting with protestors.
We further recommend that University Police take advantage of opportunities to train
with: (1) the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department regarding the handling of crowds
anticipated for the Republican National Convention in 2020; (2) the Greensboro Police
Department in the appropriate handling of bicycles as movable barricades; and (3) other area
law enforcement agencies in the storage and use of equipment and necessary resources when
confronted with hostile demonstrators.

Finally, we suggest that the University Police also consider the following
recommendations to supplement formal crowd control training:

• Ensure that officers continuously gather information on what is occurring during

crowd control situations at other campus-based institutions and cities nationwide.
This will help the University Police conduct up-to-date and appropriate risk
assessments of their own campus and guide their operational response
requirements for similar incidents;
• Consider intelligence gathered from other sources, including but not limited to
social media applications, printed materials, human intelligence and traditional
media sources as part of the risk assessment when preparing for and responding
to upcoming crowd control situations;
• Train as often as possible with outside forces that will be used to supplement
University Police during major protests. This will provide additional training to
University Police officers, grant officers exposure to new tactics, and ensure that
the groups work well together in practice;
• If outside forces are used, make sure that everyone is communicating using the
same police radio channel. All officers should be able to communicate
seamlessly with one another in case assistance is requested;
• Develop robust and detailed written Operations Plans as far in advance as
possible, recognizing that last-minute intelligence will always be a factor in crowd
control operations. Sufficient preparation will allow for a facile response to fluid
situations;
• Continue using bike rack barricades in crowd control situations, as they provide
both physical and psychological barriers for protesters. The idea that these types
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of barricades can be a trap or danger to the police officers inside them is simply
not borne out by the facts. Instead, barricades serve as force multipliers and
increase the effectiveness of a smaller number of police officers and are
especially useful for crowd control. Keep in mind, however, that while bike racks
are better than having no barricades at all, they are not the most effective
barricade tool. University Police and the UNC-CH administration should consider
acquiring barricades specifically designed for use during crowd control situations,
particularly those that are at least six (6) feet high. These barricades should be
deployed near where the demonstration is to take place so that officers can erect
the barricades with little notice; and
• Consider moving forward with a plan to create a System-wide police academy.
Under a recommended current plan, the new academy would be located in
Greensboro at a currently unused state-owned facility. The academy concept
allows for students at constituent university campuses to be trained tuition free as
police cadets/officers during their sophomore and junior years. These students
could supplement university police forces while in school and, upon graduation,
feed university police departments. Further, if the academy is run year-round,
city and county law enforcement agencies could send candidates for training,
thereby creating an additional source of revenue and ensuring that local forces
are kept up to date on the most recent strategies and techniques (crowd control
included).

FINDING NO. 5: UNIVERSITY POLICE WERE NOT ADEQUATELY STAFFED FOR

AUGUST 20, 2018.

It became very apparent during the assessment process that the University Police
Department is comprised of a professional group of individuals who are committed to providing
public safety to those who attend and work at UNC-CH. They take this mission very seriously
and have handled crowd control events in the past successfully. However, it was also apparent
that the criticism the department has received since the protest of August 20, 2018 has had a
negative impact on the morale of their officers and staff members. Contributing to this loss of
morale was the negative press the department received as a result of their performance during
the August 20 protest, coupled with the sense that line-level officers and field supervisors were
put at physical risk due to a lack of adequate resources, including available officers.

Although the University Police Department has mutual aid agreements with other law
enforcement agencies, including the Chapel Hill Police Department, the extent of the assistance
provided by these agencies was not fully understood, appreciated, or taken into consideration
by the University Police in planning for the August 20 demonstration. This was particularly true
of Chief Blue’s alleged limitation on Chapel Hill’s participation (i.e. they would only protect
people, but not property). When Chief Blue was asked for assistance following the early melee,
only six (6) Chapel Hill officers were sent over. The remaining thirty (30) to forty (40) Chapel Hill
officers remained staged on Franklin Street.

This lack of outside support to defend the statue was most relevant during the fifteen
(15) minute window where the majority of the protestors left McCorkle Place. This window could
have allowed University Police officers to remove the tarps and briefly retake the statue.
However, they were unable to do so for very long. Once the protesters returned, it was only a
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matter of time before safety concerns warranted that the officers fall back. Had Chief
McCracken asked for additional assistance and had Chief Blue approved the request and
allowed his officers to directly defend the statue, there may have been enough officers to
prevent the toppling.

RECOMMENDATION FOR FINDING NO. 5: While the outcome of the August 20th
protest indicates that the University Police Department is not staffed sufficiently to handle large
scale protests without the assistance of outside law enforcement agencies, this does not
necessarily mean that UNC-CH must significantly increase police staffing. A cost-benefit
analysis should be done to compare the costs associated with funding short-term help to assist
in large or violent campus protests against the cost of hiring new officers on a permanent basis.

The University Police Department should also consider doing an updated staffing
analysis to determine how many additional officers would be required to allow for the creation of
a Special Operations Team (“SOT”). This core group of officers and supervisors would be
trained and capable of leading crowd control efforts for the department when needed. Their
assignments could be collateral rather than full-time, recognizing that some additional officers
may be needed to allow for ongoing release time so that SOT members may train on a regular
basis. Such collateral assignments would also allow SOT primarily to perform regular patrol
duties, but still be called upon when necessary to plan for and respond to crowd control
situations. Special consideration should be given to ensuring that SOT members are trained in
bicycle patrol and the use of bicycles during large events. SOT members should also be trained
in creating robust written operations plans, working in conjunction with the officers assigned to
gather and analyze crime and intelligence information. Once trained, SOT members can share
their training with the rest of the officers in the department, focusing on de-escalation
techniques, crowd control formations, arrest and extraction techniques, and the use of bicycles
for crowd control, among other tactics. Further, the UNC System should consider whether a
system-wide SOT team should be created to respond to threats at any campus.

In addition, University Police should strive to have adequate written mutual aid
agreements in place to ensure that help is available for the events that require it. Written mutual
aid agreements between the University Police Department and other law enforcement agencies
should clearly indicate the degree of support that UNC-CH may count on in crowd control
situations. If some assisting agencies are unwilling to provide support for the protection of
property during crowd control events, then University Police should secure law enforcement
assistance from agencies that will. To these ends, we recommend that the University System
explore a System-wide police force that can handle events where a single constituent
university’s forces will be inadequate.

Finally, while protecting people should always take a priority over protecting property,
proper planning and preparation for demonstrations need to account for protection of both
people and property. The University Police Department should ensure that written policies and
procedures are established that outline how the department protects both people and property
during crowd control situations. Such policies ensure that pre-planning for crowd control events
takes into account the appropriate number of law enforcement personnel needed and leaves no
doubt about where UNC-CH stands on this polarizing issue.

V. CONCLUSION
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Everyone at UNC-CH, police officers and administrators alike, are dedicated and
conscientious professionals. They are properly concerned with the safety of human life and are
dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights. However, it is apparent from our Assessment
that UNC-CH struggled to communicate, prepare, and execute their plans for the August 20,
2018 demonstration, which ultimately resulted in the toppling of Silent Sam.

We did not find any evidence of a conspiracy among or between police, administrators,
and demonstrators to topple the statue that evening. Instead, we found that the protesters were
infinitely more well-organized and prepared than originally expected. Miscommunication
between the University Police and UNC-CH senior leadership combined with inefficient and
inadequate information-gathering, insufficient staffing, and outdated crowd control training made
preventing what happened on August 20 difficult if not impossible to achieve.

The University Police have a responsibility to protect both lives and property, but they
cannot do so in a vacuum. They need the support of UNC-CH administrators to ensure that
correct mechanisms, staff, and funding are in place to allow them to succeed at their jobs:
enforcing the law. The leadership of this storied institution with the help of the UNC System
must wrestle with and analyze what happened to ensure that such systemic failures do not
reoccur in the future at UNC-CH and other System universities.

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EXHIBIT A
EXHIBIT B
EXHIBIT C
 Margaret Spellings
President
University of North Carolina

UNC Chancellors Finance &

UNC Health Care System Chief of Staff External Affairs Governance, Legal & Risk
Academic Affairs Administration Strategy & Policy
Meredith Beaton Didier Vacant Thomas Shanahan
Senior Vice President Clinton Carter Andrew Kelly
Senior Vice President & Senior Vice President Senior Vice President &
Kim van Noort, (Interim) Senior Vice President & Senior Vice President
Chief of Staff General Counsel
Appalachian State Chief Financial Officer
NC State University UNC Wilmington
University
Randy Woodson Zito Sartarelli Communications and
Sheri Everts Academic & Student
Marketing Federal Affairs Financial Planning & Legal Affairs Strategic Initiatives
Affairs
Camille Barkley Elizabeth Morra Analysis Joanna Carey Cleveland Cameron Howell
Vice President
East Carolina UNC School of the Associate Vice Vice President Nathan Knuffman Vice President & Deputy Vice President
UNC Asheville Bethany Meighen,
University Arts President for Strategic Vice President General Counsel
Nancy Cable (Interim)
Cecil Staton Lindsay Bierman Communications
State Government
Joshua Ellis Data & Analytics Relations Compliance & Audit 1 Policy Development
Elizabeth City State Western Carolina Dan Cohen-Vogel Human Resources Lynne Sanders
UNC Chapel Hill Associate Vice Andrew Moretz & Analysis
University University Vice President Matthew Brody Vice President
Carol Folt President for Media Vice President Shun Robertson
Karrie Dixon (Interim) Alison Morrison- Vice President
Relations Assistant Vice
Shetlar (Interim) President
Academic Programs, University Safety & Emergency
Fayetteville State Office of the Operations
UNC Charlotte Faculty & Research Advancement Information
University Secretary Brent Herron
Phil Dubois Winston-Salem Kimberly van Noort Timothy Minor Technology
James Anderson Andrea Poole Associate Vice President
State University Vice President Vice President Keith Werner P12 Strategy &
Ellwood Robinson Senior Associate Vice Vice President & CIO Policy
NC A&T State President & University Julie Kowal
UNC Greensboro Secretary Economic Associate Vice
University NC School of Digital Learning
Frank Gilliam Development, President
Harold Martin Science and Jim Ptaszynski
Engagement, and
Mathematics Vice President NC Arboretum
Partnerships
Todd Roberts George Briggs
Vacant University & P-12
Executive Director
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NC Central University Robin Cummings UNC-TV
UNC Health Care Vacant
Johnson Akinleye Brian Sickora
System Vice President
Executive Director &
Bill Roper
General Manager

UNC Press
John Sherer
Spangler Family
Director
1 Also reports to President and Board Audit Committee

NC Arboretum and UNC Press are affiliates per legislation.

8/17/2018
EXHIBIT D
August 19, 2017

Dear Chancellor Folt,

I am writing to express my concern about the threat posed to the UNC Chapel Hill
community by the Civil War monument on our campus. As you are aware this statue
(Silent Sam) has been at the center of heated debate for decades. However, in my
professional opinion recent events have served to transform that debate into a true public
safety threat. Those events are the August 12th conflict in Charlottesville resulting in the
tragic loss of three lives, and the toppling of the Civil War monument in Durham on
August 14th.

It is only a matter of time before an attempt is made to topple Silent Sam. In fact, we
have information indicating that an attempt may occur on August 22nd, if not sooner.
There is a real danger that someone could be seriously injured in the process of pulling
the statue down. Aside from that fact, the statue now serves, more than ever, as a magnet
drawing together extreme factions intent on committing acts of violence. I have the very
real fear that our students will be drawn to participate in any event focused on the statue
and find themselves trapped between the warring factions. I have had conversations with
the Town of Chapel Hill Police Chief, Chris Blue, the Orange County Sheriff, Charles
Blackwood, and the UNC General Administration Associate Vice President of Campus
Safety & Emergency Operations, Brent Herron, and they are all of the same opinion.

The fact that UNC Chapel Hill is the only campus in the UNC System that has a Civil
War monument on its property places our community in a uniquely dangerous situation.
Any support that you can garner to help mitigate this impending threat will be greatly
appreciated.

Sincerely,

Chief Jeff B. McCracken

UNC Chapel Hill Police
EXHIBIT E
August 21, 2017

Dear Chancellor Folt,

I wanted to follow up on my August 19, 2017 memo concerning the threat posed to the
UNC Chapel Hill community by the Civil War monument on our campus (Silent Sam) by
conveying the fiscal impact as well.

On October 25, 2015, the University spent approximately $25,000 on police operations
associated with the rally/protest at Silent Sam. The approximate cost will be the same for
any announced event going forward, including tomorrow night.

The University is currently spending approximately $1,700 a day to maintain police

presence in McCorkle Place around the monument. If required to continue with the
current level of vigilance the cost will be approximately $621,000 annually.

Sincerely,

Chief Jeff B. McCracken

UNC Chapel Hill Police
EXHIBIT F
August 21, 2017
Governor Cooper
Page | 2

As leaders of the University, we rely on the experience and judgment of our experienced law enforcement
professionals to make informed decisions about how to keep the UNC System's campuses safe for students.
The safety of our students is our highest priority. Given the substantial security threats that we face at UNC-
Chapel Hill in connection with Silent Sam, we believe it is essential that the State of North Carolina take
necessary steps to ensure safety. We would not be able to face parents whose students are harmed in a
violent confrontation if we did otherwise.

UNC-Chapel Hill faces the likelihood of dealing with possible demonstrations and continued threats to
campus safety and security on an ongoing basis. The attention to this issue is not going away. As the school
year begins, UNC-Chapel Hill has been placed in a position where it must devote limited law enforcement
resources to the potential activities surrounding Silent Sam, while at the same time continuing to maintain a
safe and secure environment throughout the rest of the campus. UNC-Chapel Hill expects to incur significant
additional ongoing security costs as a result.

Further, because of these imminent and ongoing potential safety and security threats, we wish to notify you
that there is a strong likelihood that the University will require substantial law enforcement and emergency
services support from your office as you may determine should be made available through State and Federal
agencies.

We believe that any protests, demonstrations, and acts of vandalism could also potentially result in
significant damage to the Silent Sam statue itself. While removing Silent Sam from its location on campus
could preserve the monument and prevent damage, it is our understanding that, pursuant to Section 100-2.1
of the North Carolina General Statutes, only the State or the North Carolina Historical Commission - and not
UNC-Chapel Hill or the UNC System - may take action to preserve monuments like Silent Sam. Moreover, our
assessment is that there are real safety and security risks associated with either taking the statue down or
leaving it up. Therefore, we urge you to consider convening the North Carolina Historical Commission to take
up this matter and to consider what steps should be taken, consistent with the law.

The University’s primary goal is to preserve the safety and security of the campus community, and it is a goal
that we are certain you share. It is for this reason that we request you to take appropriate action to help
avoid violence and address the significant safety risks to the UNC-Chapel Hill students and the campus, as
well as the risk of damage to the Silent Sam monument. As you well know, our campuses are home to
thousands of young people whose parents entrust them to our care, as well as to many faculty, staff and
others. Their safety must be our most urgent priority.

Sincerely,

Margaret Spellings Carol Folt

Lou Bissette Haywood Cochrane

EXHIBIT G

EXHIBIT H
EXHIBIT I
Update from Carolina, UNC System leaders on the
Confederate Monument
unc.edu/posts/2018/08/21/update-from-carolina-unc-system-leaders-on-the-confederate-monument

​August​ ​21​, ​2018

Dear Carolina Community:

Since the Confederate Monument was brought down last night, many have questioned how
police officers responded to protesters and how the University managed the event. Safety is
always paramount, but at no time did the administration direct the officers to allow protesters
to topple the monument. During the event, we rely on the experience and judgment of law
enforcement to make decisions on the ground, keeping safety as the top priority.

Last night’s rally was unlike any previous event on our campus. This protest was carried out
in a highly organized manner and included a number of people unaffiliated with the University.
While we respect that protesters have the right to demonstrate, they do not have the right to
damage state property.

We have asked the SBI to assist the police to fully investigate the incident, and they have
agreed. We do not support lawlessness, and we will use the full breadth of state and
University processes to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

The safety and security of the students and community entrusted to us have been and will
remain our top priority. While we are grateful that no one, including our police officers, was
injured during last night’s protest, we will never condone mob actions and always encourage
peaceful and respectful demonstrations on our campus.
1/2
Sincerely,

Carol L. Folt
Chancellor

Harry Smith
Chair, UNC Board of Governors

Margaret Spellings
President, UNC System

Haywood Cochrane
Chair, UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees

2/2
October 19, 2018

Dear Mr. Smith, Mr. Rucho and Mr. Byers:

I write on behalf of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and its
administration in response to the October 15, 2018 draft of the Silent Sam Monument After
Action Assessment Report. We welcome this opportunity to learn from the After Action
Assessment and improve public safety at UNC-Chapel Hill.

We support the efforts to evaluate what lessons may be learned from this event
and agree that undertaking a thorough and deliberate assessment is necessary and
important to ensure the continued safety of our students, faculty, staff, police officers,
and visitors. We agree with the overall message of the draft report: There is room to
improve the ways in which the University prepares for and responds to threats from
outside protest organizations and highly organized, non-student groups and networks
who are not associated with UNC-Chapel Hill and do not have the best interests of UNC-
Chapel Hill in mind. We will adopt all five recommendations provided to us in the draft
report.

As you know, ensuring the safety of the public and the Confederate Monument
has long been a concern of ours. Managing threats associated with the Confederate
Monument is unique to UNC-Chapel Hill, as the only campus in the UNC System with a
Confederate monument of this type. In 2017, out of particular concern prompted by the
events in Charlottesville, Virginia and Durham, North Carolina, I directed UNC-Chapel
Hill Police Chief Jeff McCracken to provide me with documentation regarding the needs
of the campus police force to protect people and property as well as the costs incurred to
monitor the Confederate Monument. The correspondence Chief McCracken drafted and
provided to me, included in the appendix of the draft report, was then used to help
illustrate and explain to the Board of Trustees and the Governor the concerns of UNC-
Chapel Hill leaders and police relating to the Monument. Additionally, during my
tenure, I have ensured they had additional funding to have an officer monitoring the
Confederate Monument 24/7, two cameras linked for viewing at the 911-dispatch center,
and body-worn cameras for our officers, among other things.

Prior to the night of August 20, we successfully navigated two years and over 35
protests and other demonstrations without anyone being seriously harmed or attempting
to pull down the Monument. While the protest on August 20 began like the dozens of
other protests around the Confederate Monument, it ended unlike any other. The actions
by the persons who toppled the statue were highly organized, unlawful, and extremely
dangerous. The organization and the elevated tactics used by many of the protestors,
who were members of outside organizations and non-student groups and networks, had
not previously been seen on our campus or by our police force. Unfortunately, in the
time leading up to August 20, we did not anticipate that there was a plan to pull the
Confederate Monument down that night.

It is now clear, with the benefit of hindsight, that UNC-Chapel Hill did not
accurately predict the number of attendees, the organization of the protestors, or their
intentions. As with regard to prior protests, for which there were no serious injuries to
any persons or property, the police force relied heavily on social media to develop
intelligence. Through this incident we have learned that methods which were successful
in the past are no longer as predictive. Agencies across the state that help to provide us
with public safety-related information, such as the North Carolina State Bureau of
Investigation (SBI) and Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAAC), had not, to
my knowledge, alerted us of any growing concern.

As a regular practice, Chief McCracken and Derek Kemp, Associate Vice

Chancellor for Campus Safety and Risk Management, conduct risk assessments and flag
what they anticipate to be major events. Senior leadership—generally including Bob
Blouin, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost; Jonathan Pruitt, Vice Chancellor of
Finance and Operations; Mark Merritt, Vice Chancellor and General Counsel; Clayton
Somers, Vice Chancellor of Public Affairs, Felicia Washington, Vice Chancellor of
Workforce Strategy, Equity, and Engagement; Amy Hertel, Chief of Staff; Joel Curran,
Vice Chancellor of University Communications; Darrell Jeter, Director of Emergency
Management and Planning; Christy Hurt, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affair;
Winston Crisp, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs; Vice Chancellor Kemp; and myself—
then conduct an event-preparation meeting with Chief McCracken to discuss the risk
assessment, identify expected participants, and consider tactics and strategies. In
addition, Chief McCracken and I have each other’s cell phone numbers, and we have
used them to communicate directly with each other. This collaborative process, which
has helped to keep UNC-Chapel Hill a safe community, should be refined, clarified, and
articulated in writing. In light of the events of August 20, we also need to improve it.

2
 In response to the events of August 20, the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees,
the most senior members of the UNC-Chapel Hill administration, and the UNC-Chapel
Hill police force undertook to examine and evaluate the incident. We wanted to identify
what, if anything, we could have done differently to prevent the toppling of the
Monument. Taking stock of our successes and mistakes is vital to addressing and
responding to the new and evolving threats facing campus police forces. Ultimately, that
is my responsibility.

As was a focus in the draft report, reviewing the decisions made leading up to
August 20 regarding the use of barricades was a part of our work in assessing how the
events unfolded that night. The use of barricades in connection with protests had been a
topic of multiple discussions among law enforcement and University leaders in
connection with the August 20 event and other, prior protests, whenever police proposed
deploying them.

In preparation for August 20, law enforcement expressed an intention to erect the
barricades on Sunday—the day before the event. Where barricades had been used in the
past, they had been deployed on the day of the event. We were mindful that having
barricades around the statue on Sunday—during “Week of Welcome,” when students
return to campus—could raise concerns among students and their parents. I expressed
my preference that, if barricades were needed, they not be deployed on the weekend. On
Monday, police neither deployed the barricades nor communicated to administrators
that they thought the barricades were necessary.

After the event, we reassessed the plans and preparations for the event, including
the decision about barricades. Senior leaders—including Bob Blouin, Jonathan Pruitt,
and Mark Merritt—and members of the Board of Trustees made specific inquiries about
decisions made by senior leaders and the University police, including barricades. Both
Chief McCracken and Mr. Kemp stated that law enforcement knew they could deploy
barricades at any point on Monday. Further, Mr. Kemp said that having barricades
would not have stopped the toppling of the Monument. Chief McCracken reiterated the
assessment that the use of barricades probably would not have made any difference and,
in fact, may have endangered the safety of the police officers on the scene. Nothing is
more important to us than the safety and well-being of our people: our students, our
faculty, our staff, our neighbors and visitors, and our police officers.

In furtherance of that priority and responsibility, our review shed important light
on things we could learn from others about how to best manage threats from outside
protest organizations. The events of August 20, viewed with the benefit of hindsight,

3
have revealed that there are areas where we can strengthen our efforts. As Chancellor, I
am committed to ensuring we work together with the Board of Governors to further
strengthen public safety on our campus. The University is already engaging with
consultants on best practices in this arena and developing a training program to better
equip our University police force. We will incorporate the helpful recommendations
from the draft report into our ongoing effort.

We agree with many of the investigators’ comments and recommendations. We

also communicated to the investigator concerns about the draft report, including factual
issues. We hope our comments will be considered and incorporated into the final
version. The report will help us as we continue our efforts to learn from August 20 and
improve our work on behalf of the University we hold so dear. I will direct
implementation of measures to adopt all five recommendations of the draft report:

Recommendation No. 1:

We agree with the recommendation that the process for direct communications
between the Chancellor and the Chief of Police in preparation for major events should
be clearly expressed in a policy statement. We will develop a policy that outlines our
roles and the roles of other University leaders in the planning, briefing and review of
operations plans developed by the police. We have already retained professional law
enforcement consultants and will engage them to also develop a training program for
senior leadership to prepare them for briefings and engagement with our police officers.

Recommendation No. 2:

We agree with the recommendations that (i) intelligence gathering and analysis
should not be centralized in one officer but rather shared among a team of officers; and
(ii) operational plans should be developed and used to brief the Chancellor,
administrators and officers. We will develop policies that outline how these
responsibilities and functions will be shared and implemented.

Recommendation No. 3:

We agree with the recommendations that (i) a wide variety of intelligence

sources need to be consulted and analyzed in advance of events, including collaborating
with ISAAC, the Fusion Center, other state resources and other campuses; (ii) our
officers receive regular training in intelligence-gathering; (iii) the Chief should regularly
brief the Chancellor and leadership on intelligence information; and (iv) the police
department should conduct after-action reports, to be shared with the Chancellor and

4
senior administrators. We will develop policies that outline how these responsibilities
and functions will be shared and implemented.

Recommendation No. 4:

We agree with the recommendation that the University police should undergo
ongoing department-wide training for crowd control planning and operations to ensure
the department has acquired and maintained the skills necessary to respond to future
crowd control situations. We have retained professional law enforcement consultants
who have already identified training programs in the coming weeks (including some of
the suggestions referenced) and we will share these suggestions and recommendations
with them as they prepare a comprehensive on-going training program as outlined in
this recommendation. We have all learned that the landscape has greatly changed with
the involvement of professional outside protest groups coming onto our campus, and
that our community is facing new and more dangerous challenges. We will develop
policies to outline how our ongoing training programs will better protect our officers
and our campus.

Recommendation No. 5:

We agree with the recommendation that (i) the police department should
consider an updated staffing analysis to determine how many officers would be
required to create a Special Operations Team; (ii) we review current mutual aid
agreements and identify any potential gaps in our ability to request external resources;
and (iii) police policies and procedures should outline how the police will protect both
people and property. We will develop plans and policies, in coordination with the
UNC System, to explore these suggestions and implement all feasible strategies.

****

From the review we conducted following August 20, we came to many of the
same conclusions that are included in the draft report. We have already taken steps
following our initial review, which are discussed throughout this letter, closely related
to these recommendations. Thank you for all of your efforts and support in this regard.

5
 We are glad to have the opportunity to continue campus-wide efforts to improve
how we prepare for and respond to the changing landscape of the University protest
environment. We look forward to receiving the final report.

Respectfully yours,

Carol L. Folt