The Rev. Cardes Brown, a member of the Pulpit Forum, has spoken on behalf of black police officers alleging a climate of racial hostility within the department. (photo by Jordan Green)
Thirty-nine black police officers suing the Greensboro Police Department for discrimination are asking the federal courts to allow a second amended complaint that includes a new piece of information about police Detective Scott Sanders’ investigative tactics, along with allegations culled from various media accounts.The plaintiffs allege that when Sanders returned to duty after a Guilford County jury acquitted him of an illegal intrusion charge in February, he initially denied using a keystroke monitoring device to download about a year of plaintiff Antuan Hinson’s e-mails, but after being confronted with evidence to the contrary admitted it but explained the probe as a mistake. The plaintiffs say that and other actions to monitor black officers were done without probable cause or reasonable suspicion. Lawyer Seth Cohen, who represents Sanders and former Deputy Chief Randall Brady, said he planned to file a formal response this week, but would refrain from responding on behalf of either of his clients.
John Bloss, a lawyer who is part of the team representing the plaintiffs, said the information was gleaned from anonymous sources within the police department.
The plaintiffs’ proposed amended complaint also incorporates information originally reported by WFMY News and YES! Weekly, without making attribution.
The plaintiffs have challenged the defendants’ claim that lineup books included only black officers who were on duty when an alleged sexual assault by a black officer occurred, contending that the defendants knew “no such sexual assault occurred, and that none of the lineup books were limited to uniformed black officers who were on duty on that particular shift.”
The proposed amended complaint elaborates, “Indeed, current chief of the Greensboro Police Department, Timothy R. Bellamy, has publicly stated, ‘We checked that system and nowhere can we find a report that fits the nature of what we’ve been investigating involving a police officer committing a sexual offense against a suspect.’” The quote is taken from a report by WFMY News reporter Frank Mickens.
A second component comes from information gleaned from YES! Weekly public records request: “Greensboro Public Affairs Director Pat Boswell has acknowledged in a February 2008 e-mail: ‘At this time, it seems that the GPD does not have a date for this alleged event.’ And Greensboro Police Department Attorney Maurice Cawn has
page 8
