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City Manager Mitchell Johnson today released a statement regarding a story in the News & Record on a missing police department memo. Read the statement

From today's News & Record:

GREENSBORO — A new crisis at City Hall on Thursday heightened the City Council's impatience with Mitchell Johnson, a manager already on shaky ground with some of his bosses.

Should City Manager Mitch Johnson be fired? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

The latest issue: The sudden discovery of a critical police department memo, something a city attorney said Tuesday she was unaware existed.


But Thursday morning — just hours after the memo was printed in The Rhinoceros Times and on The Troublemaker, a blog written by Greensboro gadfly Ben Holder — city employees announced the memo does, in fact, exist and that it's at City Hall.


The memo discusses the "black book," a lineup of photos that police used to investigate a fellow officer. The tactic has been the subject of several investigations and has divided the community.


Johnson admitted the error Thursday but denied the city staff was lying or trying to hide the memo.


"Once we found it, there was an immediate response," he said.
Johnson said he can't release the memo to the public without the council's approval, which he will try to get Feb. 19.


Councilwoman Mary Rakestraw was livid Thursday and called for Johnson to be fired. She said she asked Johnson and city attorneys three times in a closed session of the council whether any other information "went along with the 'black book.'"


She said she was told "Not at this time."


"I feel that I have been lied to," she said. "I feel that Mitch needs to be dismissed on this issue. This is outrageous. I cannot tolerate this behavior any longer."


Other council members stopped short of calling for Johnson's resignation, but they indicated his job is in jeopardy.


"The citizens of our city are tired of misstep after blunder after crisis," Councilman Mike Barber said.


"This most recent incident of noncommunication is the last one that I will tolerate as a council member without calling for a new team with three goals: communications, public trust and customer service."


Councilwoman Trudy Wade said: "This has certainly compromised my ability to trust the legal staff and the city manager. It is imperative that we make a change in the management of the city and attorney's office to regain the citizens' trust in city government."


Here's the background: On Jan. 18, the News & Record filed a public records request asking for "the two-page memo (former investigators) Tom Fox and Scott Sanders wrote summarizing the rationale behind (creating) the 'black book.'"


The book is a lineup containing photos of 19 black police officers that was used to investigate a prostitute's claim she was sexually assaulted by a police officer. Members of former Chief David Wray's administration have said it was an appropriate investigative technique, but some community leaders thought it unfairly targeted black officers.


On Tuesday, the News & Record received a response by e-mail from Becky Jo Peterson-Buie, the city's chief deputy attorney.


She wrote: "We have researched and are not aware of the existence of the alleged two-page memo summarizing the rational behind the black book. Consequently, there is no public record in response to your request."


On Thursday morning, The Rhinoceros Times and The Troublemaker published the memo.


About noon, city spokeswoman Pat Boswell called the News & Record to report the discovery of the memo. She explained that after city officials saw those publications, they realized which memo the News & Record was requesting.


Johnson said the request didn't provide enough details about the memo to make it clear which document the News & Record wanted. Sanders co-authored the memo not with Fox — as the News & Record had stated in its request — but with Deputy Chief Randall Brady.


"The truth of the matter is, until it got published, we didn't know that's what you were asking for," Johnson said.


He said he hadn't seen the memo until he read it on The Troublemaker. Johnson said the memo does, however, bolster the position that Brady knew the "black book" existed before he admitted its existence during a lie detector test.


"I've got to say, it kind of proves what I've been talking about all along," Johnson said.


Seth Cohen, Brady's attorney, didn't return a telephone call Thursday.
Councilman Robbie Perkins, one of Johnson's most vocal supporters, said Peterson-Buie's response was a mistake.


"I don't think it looks good at all for the city to say they didn't have something like this, then say they have it," Perkins said.


The larger point, Perkins said, comes in the contents of the memo. Like Johnson, he said the document proves the "black book" existed as early as July 2005.


Councilman Zack Matheny said he would not comment on whether this issue has shaken his faith in city leaders. But he did say he's tired of the controversies.


"I want all of this done," he said. "I'm frustrated with the fact that we've been having trouble finding stuff ... We have a communication problem."
Barber was more direct. He said, he had a "candid one-on-one conversation with (Johnson) three weeks ago. I've supported Mitchell's efforts to fix these things, but at this point we need swift, strong public action.


"Mitch should begin with his department heads, putting them in a room, closing the door and telling each of them to get their department to the level of excellence immediately as a condition of employment."

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