The City of Greensboro has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by embattled Greensboro Police Lt. James Hinson, the central figure in the mess that led to the resignation of then-Chief David Wray.

Hinson’s lawsuit alleges that Wray and former Deputy Chef Randall Brady conspired to ruin Hinson’s career because he’s black. According to the N&R (unposted):

In the four-page motion to dismiss, the city says it and its then-employees — Wray and Brady —- acting in their official capacities —cannot be parties of a conspiracy on the basis of governmental and intracorporate immunities.

With that in mind, the Rhino’s John Hammer (also unposted), noting the city’s responses to Hinson’s claims, has some questions:

If the city didn’t think the invesitgation of Hinson was motivated by race, then why were Wray and his command staff forced out and why was Hinson reinstated as if nothing had happened?

The whole point of the city legal report and the RMA report was that black officers during the Wray administration were being treated unfairly. Now the city is denying that is true. So if that is not true, why did (City Manager Mitchell) Johnson lock Wray out of his office and force him to resign?

You get it: The city is suddenly defending a couple of despicable characters whom Johnson publicly chastised before the City Council last year. But, as Hammer concludes, “Johnson’s attitude has been —what he says is true when he says it, even in cases where what he says completly contradicts earlier statements.”

This whole deal has been a mess from the start and it only gets messier. I also can’t help but note that the city’s response was filed Monday, and we’re just now reading about it in the N&R today — the day after the Rhino hit the streets.