News-Record.com

You gotta love it - unsurpassed entertainment and amusement courtesy of the Greensboro City Council. Now, if only Diane Bellamy Small or the Truth and Reconcilation Commission would add their two cents . . .

The N&R has no right to internal personnel records. If I was one of the officer's involved and the city gov't or the Chief provided "everything we know" about an internal investigation concerning me, I'd sue the crap out of everyone involved. And if you published it, knowing it was illegally provided, I'd sure the N&R as well.
How about you beat your drum for the government to release "everything that's legal" for them to release? And good luck getting the SBI to release their reports.

Score one for City Hall. They took one from the political play book: "Always release BAD news on a Friday afternoon" (as you mentioned). It could be that they are getting "smarter". Plus with the weather news dominating the media, this will be soon forgotten.

No one should jump the gun. Henderson's determination was based on what he believed could be proven in a criminal court of law. That being said, it is now up to Chief Bellamy and the Police Dept. to examine this incident and decide if proper policies and procedures were followed during this event, who if anyone should be held accountable and what level of discipline will be meted out to those involved. Certainly there was bad judgement at play on this evening or we would not still be dealing with this mess. It involved city employees that have rights and responsibilities. They also have levels of supervision that oversee their actions. Justice is sometimes a slow process. However, in the long run, the Police Dept. will do there job as they see it, the Chief will do his job as he sees it, the City Manager will do his job as he sees it, the City Council will do their job as they see it and the citizens will do their job as they feel the interest and necessity to do. The final result will be a testament to how we have all lived up to our charge.

Robbie Perkins running around saying that Bellamy's decision should be based on the "evidence" is priceless considering Perkins still supports Mitch Johnson after he fired Wray with no evidence.

This probe is going nowhere in the GPD because the City has a vested interest in making it appear that all is fine and well under Bellamy even though there have been far more provable police scandals and evidence of corruption under Bellamy than Wray.

Exposing the troubles that Wray was concerned about would make Mitch & Co. look like fools for jumping the gun and firing Wray.

Yeah, I know, "Wray quit"- but we all know that isn't really the case.

Strange coming from the N&R 's JR since he and his staff did all they could to knife David Wray in the back and twist the knife to boot, but that statement he would have liked to have heard from Bellemy, with Mitchy and Mayor in tow, sounded to me like something David Wray would have said. BB

Brenda, I dont think David would say anything of the kind. I believe his concern is directed toward Greensboro having the best and most professional Police Dept. possible. Sam, Sure he tried to correct issues that he felt have long plagued the dept. and that he had been given a mandate to resolve. In the end he saw there was no way he could see this mission through. He knew he did not have the support of the City Manager or the City Council. He grew up here. His life was here. He loves this community. He hates to see this turmoil. However, he could not play in a game with a stacked deck. He knew the history, powers and politics of Greensboro. He has moved on. He has a new challenging, better paying job in law enforcement at the federal level. If JR now feels it is the time to hold feet to the flames, so be it. The next months will be as interesting as the last few. We will see what Greensboro is going to be, a city bound for the opportunities of the future or held hostage by the bonds of our past.

Sunday update: " How tough can it be to crack this case? " The initial response would be priorities. Rather than focusing on the obvious poor judgement of all parties involved, possible criminal prosecution had to take precedence. Now that the D.A. has determined that no criminal charges will be forthcoming due to intoxication or impairment of the alledged victim, the length of time before filing the report and the length of time before a medical exam was administered, the administrative investigation can be held in a different light. There are now two possible scenarios to be considered. Both involve persons who knew each other and worked for the same employer. Both involve the use of equipment, property, or assets owned by that employer. The divergence in the two scenarios becomes one of motivation. Was the purpose of the on duty officers to protect and serve or was it to take advantage of a situation for some other purpose that had a perceived benefit to some or all involved. If the GPD's TSET Division has as part of their mission statement or standard operating procedure a directive to provide transportation to intoxicated or impaired persons the phone number should not only be listed, but advertized as a city service available to all citizens. If on the other hand there was some special treatment given for fraternal or other considerations it is clearly a misuse of the equipment, property or assets of the employer and an improper benefit extended to a fellow employee that equates to embezzlement. Considering the current crime rate, budgetary shortfalls and the long stated need for additional Police Officers, Chief Bellamy has a tough process to handle. Maybe the preferred course is to let time pass, let people forget that they are the employer and hopefully this will all go away.