BMPD deploys overt sniper overwatch team for Christmas parade

Visible security detail intended to enhance public safety at downtown event

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
December 10, 2024

A conspicuously positioned BMPD overwatch team positions itself above downtown Black Mountain, Dec. 7, ahead of the annual Christmas parade. Photo by Fred McCormick

A visible overwatch team and high-powered sniper rifle perched atop a downtown Black Mountain business, Dec. 7, during the annual Christmas parade, was intended to enhance public safety. 

The tactic, according to Black Mountain Police Chief Steve Parker, was more conspicuous than others utilized for previous events. 

Two members of the BMPD Special Weapons and Tactics unit were positioned on a roof along East State Street, near the intersection of Montreat Road, prior to the procession. The officers were armed with a mounted sniper rifle, in full view of onlookers, who lined up from Flat Creek Road to Cragmont Road. 

“We’ve been up there the past three years,” said Parker, who has served as the chief of the department since October of 2021. “In the past, they’ve been more covert, but this year, with the cancellation of the Asheville parade, we anticipated an increased crowd.”

A standing position on the roof of the building allowed the team a better view of the perimeter, he added. 

“We needed to have a better field of vision to keep watch on the entire crowd,” Parker said. “If something were to occur, they would be able to see what’s going on, even at long range, and have the ability to do whatever they need to do.”

The officers were in uniforms identifiable to other law enforcement personnel present, according to the chief. 

“They had ‘SWAT’ on the sides of the uniform, but people in the crowd might not have recognized that,” Parker said. “But, our officers were briefed about it.”

With more than 1,000 people expected to gather for the annual parade, the event met the department’s classification for “high security.”

“Every single one of our officers worked the parade, and that’s something we’ve always done,” Parker said. “It meets a security threshold for us that requires extra personnel and security.”

The team was deployed in October to assist the Asheville Police Department’s security detail for a visit by First Lady Jill Biden, according to the chief. 

“Everything is based on where we believe we have a higher threshold of something happening,” he said. “For example, we have additional security at Sourwood and Holly Jolly, it just may not be an overwatch team. It’s specific to the event itself.”

Utilizing a sniper team is “common practice for large events,” Parker continued. 

“Would we rather say something could never happen here and then not be prepared if it does?” he said. “Or, would we rather have this as insurance that we hope we never have to use? That’s really what this is.”

The department will likely inform residents of future intentions to utilize the team, while not disclosing their exact location, Parker said.

“People deserve to be safe, and that doesn’t always look pretty,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m responsible for everyone’s safety, and if I don’t do everything I can because it doesn’t look pretty and something were to happen, I couldn’t live with myself.”