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Correction: City Councilman Mike Barber did not oppose releasing recordings and documents in Brady vs. City of Greensboro. A story Thursday about the release of the tapes stated otherwise.

GREENSBORO - One remark about former police Chief David Wray's bothersome neighbor - uttered quickly, almost nonchalantly - turned the City Council's collective stomach:

"Even if we have to do something to make it look like she's done something."

Former Deputy Chief Randall Brady is heard giving the order to Detective Scott Sanders in a recording publicly released Tuesday by the council. For board members, the comment shows that Brady wanted so badly to rid Wray of the neighbor's bizarre antics, he would resort to trumped-up charges to do so.

"The fact that he would make something up if there was nothing there - it was just so matter-of-fact," Councilman Tom Phillips said of the seven-minute recording, which the board first heard in a private meeting on Feb. 13.

"That's why this is disgusting to us."

Mayor Keith Holliday asked, "If that's been done at the rank of deputy chief, how does that establish a message among the rank and file?"

The council released the conversation, along with two hours of recordings, in an attempt to show Wray was aware of alleged misdeeds that led to his resignation last year.

Attorneys for Brady and for Wray declined to comment Wednesday.

For Councilwoman Sandy Carmany, Brady's comments showed a "willingness to potentially manufacture evidence," something she said is unacceptable.

"It is certainly not in keeping with professional police standards," she said.

"It's alarming on a number of levels," said Mike Barber, the sole council member to vote against releasing the documents (*see correction*). "The content, as well as having police officers walking around the police department recording other officers.

"It does remind me of a bad, R-rated espionage movie."

Today, attorneys for the city were expected to file a request for reconsideration in a lawsuit Brady filed against the city to get his full retirement benefits.

A federal judge recently ruled in the former deputy chief's favor.

City officials reasoned that Brady should have been fired after it was discovered he misled investigators about the existence of a "black book" photo lineup, but that Brady abruptly retired before the city could move to fire him.

The city had been unable to present that evidence in its defense because a special prosecutor had asked for a stay in any order that would require the city to surrender case files, and possibly impede an SBI investigation into the Wray administration.

Although no resolution has been announced in the SBI case, which is now in the hands of the special prosecutor, the investigative phase appeared to wind down in January with the interview of former Chief Wray.

At the council session Tuesday, City Manager Mitchell Johnson said the special prosecutor had given permission to release the taped materials for use in the city's defense in the Brady case.

City Attorney Linda Miles said she could not comment on whether the tapes showed evidence of any crime or criminal intent. The SBI did not comment.

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

Contact Margaret Moffett Banks at 373-7031 or mbanks@news-record.com

Contact Lorraine Ahearn at 373-7334 or lahearn@news-record.com