Simmering underneath the run-up to the election are more City of Greensboro issues with the infamous “black book.” Jerry Bledsoe reported in the Rhino that City Manager Mitchell Johnson said in a sworn affadavit that the black book was a legitimate investigative tool, and now Troublemaker exposes the City Council’s closed session vote to award $750,000 to 41 GPD officers listed in the EEOC complaint against the city, which in turn prompted City Council member Robbie Perkins to wonder aloud who’s leaking closed session matters.
The bottom line is the city finds itself in the awkward position of defending the black book after Johnson spent months branding it as a weapon to persecute black police officers. This shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the fact that the city found itself in the equally awkward position of defending former Police Chief David Wray and former Deputy Chief Randall Brady when replying to Lt. James Hinson’s racial discrimination lawsuit.
Evidently Johnson didn’t think of the repercussions of lawsuits that will cost the city millions while he was busy locking Wray out of his office and grandstanding in front of the City Council. It will be interesting to see how he explains all this — if the City Council asks him to explain it, that is.
Meanwhile, our local paper of record, as usual, stands on the sidelines while other people report what’s really going on in city government.
