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GREENSBORO - A judge has dismissed one of four indictments against suspended Greensboro police officer Scott Sanders.

On Tuesday, Judge Edwin G. Wilson agreed to dismiss an indictment of obstruction of justice against Sanders. Sanders is accused of abusing power and deceiving his peers to damage the reputations of black Greensboro officers.

The indictment charges that Sanders looked at and copied data he was not entitled to have on a computer that belonged to the federal government.

But the information Sanders took related to his own investigation, said Seth Cohen, Sanders' attorney.

"What's in that indictment did not allege the crime they charged," Cohen said. "He can't obstruct himself."

Three other indictments accuse Sanders of obstructing justice and conspiring to obstruct justice.

"Officer Sanders is pleased that the judge found one of the four indictments on its face is invalid," Cohen said. "At the end of the day, he's still confident that he will be found not guilty of all the charges."

Sanders, a detective, was a member of the now-disbanded special intelligence unit.

The charges emerged from a State Bureau of Investigation inquiry into possible criminal misconduct by various Greensboro police officers in a scandal that forced the resignation of the former chief, David Wray, in early 2006.

Sgt. William "Tom" Fox also was charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Both sets of charges center on late June 2005. The indictments allege that's when the two conspired to deceive other officers from Greensboro and Winston-Salem about the professional integrity of two black Greensboro police officers.

The intent was to frustrate an investigation that black officers Norman Rankin and Ernest Cuthbertson were pursuing by keeping them away from an important confidential informant, according to the indictments.

Under North Carolina law, a guilty verdict or guilty plea to any of the charges would result in the revocation of Sanders' and Fox's state certification as police officers, which is required to work in law enforcement.

Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or sonja.elmquist@news-record.com