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GREENSBORO - The U.S. Department of Justice will not prosecute any present or past officers in the Greensboro Police Department for alleged civil rights violations under former Chief David Wray, city leaders have confirmed.

City Councilwoman Sandy Carmany said Thursday that elected leaders were briefed recently by City Manager Mitchell Johnson on the decision, which he learned in a talk with Justice Department officials.

A formal, written explanation is expected in the mail any day. The FBI forwarded its findings to Washington several weeks ago. Agents have no say in the decision to prosecute alleged civil rights violations and rely on Justice Department lawyers to make the call.

"I'm pleased this part of the investigation seems to be complete," Carmany said. "I look forward to the other investigations being completed and putting all of this behind us."

A joint Greensboro police and State Bureau of Investigation probe is ongoing. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also is reviewing more than 40 charges of discrimination filed by black city police officers.

An attorney for Wray offered cautious relief at the news.

"We felt all along there's no basis for it," attorney Ken Keller said Thursday of the federal investigation. "We're pleased to receive the news, but I need to see the letter before giving a substantive comment."

FBI officials in the Charlotte branch, which handled the investigation to avoid potential conflicts of interest between Greensboro agents and the department, directed all questions to Washington.

Justice Department spokesman Eric Holland declined to comment.

The announcement means not enough evidence was found to substantiate federal criminal charges into alleged violations. Whether state law was violated has yet to be determined, and the EEOC's own investigation may uncover non criminal civil rights indiscretions.

Johnson is withholding his own thoughts until the city receives the written communication from federal authorities.

"Until I receive an official communication from the Department of Justice, I don't have a public statement," Johnson said Thursday. "I have briefed council based on information provided to me through verbal methods, which may end up being very different.

"Once we get a document, I believe (interim Chief Tim Bellamy) may have some comments, I may have some, but I don't want to presuppose."

The FBI investigation began in January, when Wray resigned after a series of events that started in June.

During an evening shift, Lt. James Hinson, a high-profile African American officer and former Officer of the Year, found he was being trailed by the department's Special Intelligence Section.

Hinson discovered a tracking device on his police cruiser, and within days, his then-attorney Joe Williams was alleging that Special Intelligence had been targeting black officers in the department for unfair internal investigation.

Wray held his own news conference June 17. It was there that he cited an ongoing federal drug investigation for why he could not answer the allegations sooner. Wray never mentioned Hinson by name.

Hinson had been suspended hours before the news conference. He was on paid leave for seven months while city officials began their own investigation into the department under Wray.

City officials asked a Raleigh-based consulting firm , Risk Management Associates, to help with the investigation. In December , RMA and two assistant city attorneys submitted reports stating that Wray had "crippled" the department by meting out harsher discipline for black officers and by intimidating white command staff who voiced objection to his department decisions.

Wray was never given a copy of the report before Johnson confronted him with a list of findings. He resigned Jan. 9 after Johnson changed the locks to his office.

The FBI had been following news coverage of the scandal and soon opened its own "look-see" into the department. One of Hinson's current attorneys said the decision not to prosecute "comes as no surprise."

"As I understand it, it is not a statement by DOJ that they have reviewed the matter and that no wrong occurred," attorney Walt Jones said. "They are simply saying it is being adequately handled by local law enforcement: Greensboro police and the SBI.

"It's fairly typical."

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