Got a response from the city (insert unhappy face here)
I'm at a council meeting now, so I don't have time to comment, but here's a response from the city, which I received just a while ago:
********************************
February 5, 2008
VIA E-MAIL
Ms. Margaret Banks
News & Record
200 East Market Street
Greensboro, North Carolina 27401
Dear Ms. Banks:
This letter is in response to your e-mail requesting the following:
"Copies of the CAD report Scott Sanders generated to create the 19 names of the officers listed in the black book; the names of the 19 black officers who were working the day and time the alleged sexual assault occurred; the two-page memo Tom Fox and Scott Sanders wrote summarizing the rationale behind the black book; and any and all tape recordings of Scott Sanders discussions with the prostitute who alleges she was sexually assaulted by the black officers."
We have been informed that "the two tapes you requested, including multiple other tapes are part of a criminal investigation in the custody of the SBI (IA has copies of the tapes as part of its investigation." All the documents you requested, with the exception of the aforesaid two-page memo, constitute records of criminal investigations pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes section 132-1.4 and are not public records as defined by G.S. 132-1.
We have researched and are not aware of the existence of the alleged two-page memo summarizing the rationale behind the black book. Consequently, there is no public record in response to your request.
Sincerely,
Becky Jo Peterson-Buie
Chief Deputy General Counsel
Cc: Elaine Tricoli
Comments (10)
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Margaret,
Has/will the N&R run this reply by its lawyers?
Posted on February 6, 2008 10:15 AM
http://thetroublemaker.blogspot.com/2008/02/margaret-banks-ii.html
Margaret,
I like you. Do you like me?
_____ Yes
_____ No
_____ Maybe
Posted on February 6, 2008 10:16 AM
Excellent question, Roch. I certainly hope so. I haven't had a chance to check with the top brass about that yet this morning, but my recommendation would be yes.
My hunch is, however, that we'll get the same roadblocks with THAT as we did with the actual "black book." But it never hurts to ask.
Posted on February 6, 2008 10:26 AM
Margaret,
I like you. Do you like me?
_____ Yes
_____ No
_____ Maybe
___X__ I think Ben Holder is a smart, funny guy who feels very passionately about the things he believes in. He also perceives people who disagree with him to have moral failings. He tries hard to annoy me but it won't work. I sat next to Jim Schlosser for 10 years and am now annoy-proof.
Posted on February 6, 2008 10:40 AM
Margaret,
The question isn't whether you allow people to annoy you or not. The question at hand is whether you are an aggressive investigative reporter that doesn't take easy answers from bureaucrats and are not easily dismissed. An investigative reporter wouldn't take those answers at face value and just report it on them. They would dig in and try to get the information. That's why Ben is successful. He has a healthy does of suspicion, and doesn't get put off easily by people from a story. You know that something stinks in this whole case. Are you allowed by the N-R to aggressively investigate and report? I believe that it is within you to do so.
Posted on February 6, 2008 5:07 PM
Margaret,
Another N-R reporter recently made this statement:
"Internal investigators have said the book was shown to people across the county to get information on officers."
If this is a true statement, then why can't you get verification that this occurred? It would seem that there would need to be some report that documented what internal investigators claimed. And, if that documentation is valid and shows that the book was used for other reasons than claimed by Sanders and Fox, it would be strong evidence for the city council and the public, if it exists. So, go after that documentation and make it public Of course, no one seems to know how the internal investigators knew this as a "fact".
Posted on February 6, 2008 5:21 PM
Person X, no one is more frustrated than I am. I have a job that requires me to demand people comply with a law (public records law) that has zero consequences for the people who don't follow it.
I'm trying. Sorry it's not going as well as you would like.
Posted on February 6, 2008 6:06 PM
http://thetroublemaker.blogspot.com/2008/02/margaret-banks-iii-see-memo-city-told.html
The 2 page memo that does not exist is now on my blog. Go report about the black book, Margaret.
Posted on February 7, 2008 7:22 AM
"zero consequences for the people who don't follow it."
I'm not sure about that. Report who is not following it and I think they will be held accountable through our elected representatives.
Posted on February 7, 2008 9:52 AM
Well, well. So it took Ben Holder and the Rhino to get the city to "find" the memo, huh? Why isn't our crack local MSM all over this? It took the Faux News locally to do the investigative work.
Posted on February 7, 2008 3:54 PM