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GREENSBORO - The City Council said Wednesday that it believes former police Chief David Wray "chose to withhold critical information" from it and his superiors.

Council members - on whose behalf Mayor Keith Holliday issued a statement - also said they had no immediate plans to release additional information about an investigation into Wray's administration of the police department.

Council members said in interviews that the city's legal liability factored into the decision to hold back details.

Wray declined to comment Wednesday when a reporter contacted him in person at his home.

Wray's attorney could not be reached for comment.

In its statement, the council said interim police Chief Tim Bellamy was conducting his own investigation into activities at the department and could take as long as two months to complete it.

The council also repeated its support for City Manager Mitchell Johnson.

Although the statement contained few new details on the investigation, it did confirm that Bellamy has found a basis for allegations of bias in personnel actions, policy and procedure violations, and a climate of intimidation.

The statement did not elaborate on Bellamy's reasoning.

A statement Johnson issued Tuesday night said law enforcement officers inside and outside the department raised several broad concerns about the department.

Among them:

• Altering of documents by top management, including forged signatures, to support their desired outcomes;

• Placing improper pressure on officers, regardless of race or gender, who disagreed with upper management views;

• Giving more intense scrutiny to the actions and missteps of minority officers;

• Alleging Internal Affairs and Special Intelligence units didn't follow procedures on reporting, investigative boundaries and documentation.

The statement Wednesday is the third city leaders made in the past two weeks about the police department investigation. It came to a head Jan. 9 with Wray's resignation .

The City Council has taken advantage of a state law that allows for the release of personnel information to maintain public confidence in city services.

But some council members said they've reached a limit for now on what they can disclose because of concerns about the city's potential legal liability.

Holliday said that based on consultations with City Attorney Linda Miles and others, "we feel this is all we can release at this time."

Councilwoman Sandy Carmany also pointed to ongoing investigations by Bellamy, along with an FBI investigation into potential civil rights violations.

"We're going to have to be patient and let these professional investigators do their jobs," she said.

Some community members have criticized how the city treated Wray and has handled and discussed the investigation. Council members, though, said Wednesday that they believe the process has been fair to him .

"I think it is, particularly since he has been out publicly making statements ... that quite frankly don't jibe with the information we have in these reports," Carmany said.

Councilman Tom Phillips said additional information not already made public would alter Wray supporters' position.

"When we release all the information, there will be people who regret" supporting Wray, he said.

Several council members said they understand why people who have long-standing relationships with Wray wouldn't believe what they've read so far about the investigation.

"I regret that the public is not getting the whole picture," Holliday said.

"They have to be dependent on their representatives ... to make sure everything is done properly. There's a trust factor involved."

Staff writer Eric J.S. Townsend contributed to this story.

Contact Eric Swensen at 373-7351 or eswensen@news-record.com