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GREENSBORO - The leak of a confidential report detailing alleged abuses under the former city police chief has not slowed ongoing criminal and administrative investigations into those claims, a top official said.

And interim police Chief Tim Bellamy, speaking Tuesday at a seminar for public relations professionals, defended his decision to tell residents of secret audio recordings of African American community leaders made by police employees during the past few years.

"If they were recorded, they should have known even though it's not a violation of the law," Bellamy said of the audio files. A handful of white leaders were also recorded. "I thought, ‘If I do not tell the people that were involved, what would happen four or five weeks down the road if they found out?'

"The first thing they would say is ... ‘Nothing has changed in the Greensboro Police Department.' In order to gain our trust back ... I had to go to them and tell them."

Bellamy's speech before the Tar Heel Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America at UNCG came one week after the City Council voted 8-1 to prohibit city staff from publicly discussing the police investigation into former Chief David Wray's administration. Wray resigned in January.

Bellamy was out of town last week for a conference. His appearance was scheduled last month, and he had not spoken in detail with City Manager Mitchell Johnson, who knew of the engagement, before he gave his talk and answered questions from attendees and media.

Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small, the lone dissenter in last week's vote, had hoped to have staff present at her own public forum Monday. No one from the city showed.

When reached Tuesday evening, Councilman Tom Phillips, a leading supporter of the vote to prohibit city staff public appearances to discuss the investigation, said the News & Record was "trying to make something out of nothing."

Bellamy-Small could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

The comprehensive report by an outside consultant and the city attorney's office concluded Wray "crippled" the department through his intimidation and by using the Special Intelligence Section to follow black officers cleared of wrongdoing by internal affairs and outside law enforcement agencies.

Whether its findings are accurate is part of what Bellamy and his internal investigators are trying to determine.

The News & Record obtained a copy of the report in March.

Two weeks later, Johnson told the newspaper of a phone call from someone who declined further cooperation out of fear that his comments would eventually end up in the paper.

Johnson clarified his remarks Tuesday.

"With regard to this investigation, most of the interviews are already complete," Johnson said. "I would have to look to Tim for that to determine if there are any impacts that have created any significant downside at this point."

That doesn't appear to be the case.

"It hasn't hampered anything we're doing," Bellamy told the two dozen luncheon guests and reporters of the leaked report. "We're still continuing our investigation - it hasn't stopped anything.

"Trust-wise? There probably will be some people, especially within city government, not only with this case but any other case, that may be reluctant to go before somebody and get some information, knowing there's a possibility that information can be released. That's just human nature."

Contact Eric J.S. Townsend at 373-7008 or etownsend@news-record.com