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GREENSBORO — An attorney for former police officer Scott Sanders lashed out at City Hall on Thursday, saying officials are "maliciously and falsely" giving the impression Sanders engaged in racial profiling.

Seth Cohen said the City Council on Tuesday night was shown only parts of the infamous "black book." The city's legal department didn't share with the council taped interviews and other documents that put the "black book" in context, he said.

Attorneys with the city's legal department didn't respond to questions about Cohen's comments Thursday. But some council members said they want to see the supporting information if it exists.

The "black book" is a photo lineup that included pictures of black officers. Why it was created — and how it was used — is the subject of considerable debate.

Cohen said the selective release of information is jeopardizing Sanders' right to a fair trial for criminal charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and hacking into a computer issued to another local officer by the federal government.

"To give them a book and say, 'Here it is,' without any other information is outrageous," he said. "It's unbelievable."

Deputy City Attorney Becky Jo Peterson-Buie didn't return telephone calls about the matter Thursday. Alan Duncan, an attorney with Smith Moore who represents the city in related matters, said he wasn't authorized to comment.

Sanders declined to comment through Cohen.

On Tuesday, the council viewed a copy of the book behind closed doors in a meeting with attorneys. Members said they viewed about 19 pages of pictures of African American men, unaccompanied by any explanations or statements.

For two years, the book has been part of the controversy surrounding the departure of former police Chief David Wray.

Internal investigators have said the book was shown to prostitutes and drug dealers across the county to get information on officers who might be engaging in illegal activities.

Wray has denied that claim. Attorneys have said Wray, Sanders and others used appropriate techniques in looking into allegations by a prostitute that she had been sexually assaulted by an unidentified black officer.

Cohen said the city's legal department has several pieces of evidence that back up Wray and Sanders' version of the story. That includes:

* A detailed explanation of how Sanders selected the 19 black officers in the book.

Cohen said Sanders performed what is known as a "CAD search," identifying which uniformed officers were on duty, with access to a patrol car, during the date and time of the alleged sexual assault. Nineteen of those officers were black, and those are the only officers in the lineup, Cohen said.

That explanation was contained in the original "black book," Cohen said.

* A two-page memo written by Sanders and former Special Intelligence Sgt. Tom Fox that explains how the 19 officers' photos were selected.

* Two taped interviews between the police and the prostitute.

* Criminal reports on the prostitute, her picture and a receipt from the hotel where she claims to have been assaulted.

Cohen said he would gladly show the council the information — in a private meeting — if the city's legal department won't.

"If the city attorney and the city manager are not responsible enough to do it, I'll give it to them," he said.

On Thursday, Councilwoman Sandra Anderson Groat said she wants to see the information, whether it comes from the city's legal department or from Cohen. Council members need to hear both sides to make an informed decision, she said.

"We only see what evidence Coman (Senior Deputy Attorney General Jim Coman), the city legal department or the city manager chooses to show us or tell us," she said.

Councilwoman Mary Rakestraw also said she was willing to learn the information from Cohen, though she plans to ask the city's legal department to provide it.

In an interview Thursday, Cohen talked for the first time to the News & Record about the "black book" and Sanders case.

He said the book has no connection to the criminal charges Sanders faces and said he isn't aware of any new charges against Sanders.

On Monday, Coman wrote in an e-mail that he didn't make the "black book" available to the City Council "because the original is in the possession of the SBI and is intended to be used as evidence at the criminal trial of at least one of the defendants."

Cohen said he doesn't understand what Coman is referring to.

Cohen also said no evidence exists that proves Sanders — or anyone with the Greensboro Police Department — showed the "black book" to anyone other than the prostitute.

But in his report on the "black book," Michael Longmire of Risk Management Associates said the belief was "every prostitute, every junkie, just about anybody in Greensboro or Guilford County or surrounding counties that might have information about the inappropriate activities of a black Greensboro police officer has been shown some kind of a book or lineup or something."

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