Roger McCredie of the Asheville Tribune is siding with the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association over an issue from the past city council election. Councilman Cecil Bothwell prepared and advanced a civil rights resolution that on the surface repeated nondiscrimination laws that should already have been upheld. John Midgette, representing the PBA, said the resolution deprives Asheville law enforcement officers of implicit powers for enforcing state and federal law. He complained the city is sending the officers rules that contradict their training and presume to supercede higher laws. Midgette argued officers need clear and concise guidelines for exercising split-second judgment in emergencies. The PBA sent a letter to the mayor and all members of council warning approval of the resolution would not be wise. Citizens may now sit back and wait for government to sue itself again. A lawsuit in Fayetteville – which Midgette claims is similar and Interim City Attorney Martha McGlohon said was not while belittling a candidate siding with the PBA in public comment before council – cost that town about $500,000.