Law Enforcement in Greensboro Easily Squashed
Posted in Greensboro City Council
Dec. 29, 2007 at 11:05
by BrendaBee
The City of Greensboro doled out a bit of information about the alleged sexual assault of two or possibly three police officers on another off duty police officer while the three of them were on duty. Given the questionable past and current performance of just about all the people involved it isn't any wonder that the information given has not and will not satisfy the public. However, some of the City Council are patting themselves on the back for being "open" and doing the "right thing". Robbie Perkins, Mr. Wheeler Dealer, and our very own "Golden Girl" Mayor Yvonne Johnson are crowing, and the N&R is cheering the actions taken by the City and City Council at the special meeting called last Thursday.Well, it wasn't enough. I have been reading other blogs and the consensus seems to be that "someone" needs to enforce the law. That "someone" in Greensboro should be the Police Chief as he/she should be the highest and best trained law enforcement entity. But he is not! Over him is: 1) City Council, 2) City Manager and 3) City Legal Department.
Is it then any wonder that when any criminal activity takes place that might be an embarrassment to or expose possible involvement of any one of the above, the enforcement of the law can be, and in Greensboro is, squashed?
We as a city have gotten exactly the government we deserve by giving these people the power they now have to commit just about any crime short of murder and get away with it. From all the reports of scandals I have read in past issues of the N&R, The Rhino and even in the city's own records, a good many of the people holding office in the past and even now holding these offices have committed crimes that could have and should have been prosecuted. Be the crimes against state or local laws they were nonetheless crimes. And as crimes deserved at the very least censure and exposure. But this isn't done because there is no one in authority to see that the law is enforced.
I have blogged often that the Police Chief should be an elected office and therefore answerable to the people only. This would be the ideal situation. However, failing that then at the very least the Police Chief and Legal Department should be directly under the control of the City Council. The Police Chief should NEVER have call to meet with the City Manager unless a crime has been committed by someone employed by and answerable to the City Manager. And then only to receive the City Manager's full cooperation in seeing that justice is done.
Now as the City of Greensboro is set up the City Manager is all but an emperor with his own little fiefdom and answerable to no one. Even the City Council to whom he is ostensibly answerable gets only the information from other city departments that the City Manager deems appropriate. We, and to the dismay of some on the City Council, heard this from the Legal Department representative this past Thursday.
Unless and until we the people take things into our own hands and change how the city operates the incident now concerning citizens where three on duty police officers allegedly sexually assaulted another off duty police officer and the details of which are being primarily withheld by the city, will continue to happen in Greensboro. BB
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Dec. 29, 2007 - Untitled Comment
You know, Brenda, there are a lot of things in the statement released by the city that bother me. The two things I cannot get out of my mind is the assault happened "in transit" and the officers picked up the women in the area of Four Seasons Shopping Center. How vague can you get? As far as I am concerned, the statement only brought to mind many more questions and answered none.I am afraid that if the investigation has been turned over to one of the officers mentioned in Jerry Bledsoe's articles, example Lt. Brian James, things might be covered up or witnesses might be coerced into changing testimony? I wish an outside agency would be called in to investigate and that would be fair to all concerned.
Betty Almond
Posted by Anonymous
Dec. 29, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Betty, I have no idea just how this thing with the GPD can be resolved except for the City Council to do as I suggest above and take the Police Chief totally out from under the control of so many people. Then to hire a WHITE man as a Police Chief. Preferably David Wray who I believe would win a popular election if given the chance, and allow him to clean house. Most importantly they must back him no matter how the Blacks in the city howl.The greater corruption in the GPD seems to be among the Black cops I am so sorry to say. And once more it didn't just happen but has been going on and growing since the first Black Police Chief took office in the mid 1980's. I did a blog on the climb in the crime rate that unfortunately shows this trend uncompromisingly. And if you will check when some of these bad cops were hired again you see a pattern and explanation for crime and corruption.
I hate to admit this, I truly do because it throws dirt on so much of what I worked for during my lifetime to gain: equality for Blacks. I guess having known corruption used against them I hoped when they got in power they would work extra hard not to do as the Whites who had put them down had.
Instead the Black leaders all over the nation, not just Greensboro, seem to have the attitude "Now it's our turn to get ours." And so they tolerate any bad behavior done by any Black and in fact, defend it if they can not cover it up.
White liberals, and I was one of them, went out of our way to get Blacks elected and hired. AND THE VAST MAJORITY ARE FINE LAW ABIDING PEOPLE whom I am proud to have helped. These people need to stand up and condemn the bad and corrupt behavior of other Blacks. I am seeing this in only one person, Mr. EC Huey who will be running for the school board next year. On the national level Bill Cosby started and since more influential Blacks
have joined him but we still have the Al Sharptons running full steam.
It's up to the people of Greensboro to face the facts no matter how much they are at odds with what we would like to believe and do what needs to be done to clean up the mess.
And of course we Whites seem to keep electing dogs too. Robbie Perkins is a prime example. He doesn't want any changes made because the status quo has worked well for him and his business. Last week when Mike Barber made a suggestion his comment was, "Let's not make the City Council another County Commission". Well just what is wrong with copying a more successful way of doing things? BB
Posted by BrendaFayBowers
