Wray/Johnson Meeting

As part of an ongoing, periodic effort to manage public perceptions on the GPD matter, the city of Greensboro released audio of the meeting between David Wray and Mitchell Johnson on January 6, 2006.  After over a year of hearing arguments and being told that Wray had not been forced out, it is now eminently clear that, in fact, he was.

The meeting itself was interesting.  As Brenda Bowers has pointed out, Johnson seemed as if he had already formulated what he was going to say.  Wray responded, I thought, in a very convincing way.  There was certainly a sense of injustice.  This was a man who clearly felt the rug had been pulled out from beneath him after he had undertaken career risks to fix problems in the department that he inherited.  These were problems both for the department and the community, and he had been given a certain charge by his superiors to fix them.  He described his second interview during the RMA investigations as "an ambush".

It is difficult to tell from the audio, but it appears there is the beginning of some negotiations over his retirement benefits and/or other benefits.  I do not know whether these benefits were ultimately offered in exchange for his resignation and/or perhaps other considerations.

The party line with respect to this audio is that Johnson was respectful, in contradistinction to characterizations some in the community may have made.  But we should be clear-- regardless of how respectful or "professional" Johnson may have been, the whole thing stinks as bad as it would have if he had behaved much more poorly.

Johnson repeatedly mentions a loss of trust, that he had been misled; and points out that "whether you were told or not, what happened in your shop happened in your shop."

But upon what is that loss of trust based?

1. The meeting with the black officers.  Joe Williams had organized a meeting with Johnson and Linda Miles during which black officers would vent a relentless series of racial complaints against Wray. 

2. The RMA report and City Attorney's report.  Large portions of both reports have been debunked in the Bledsoe series.  The FBI looked at the multitude of charges of discrimination, and decided there was not enough there to prosecute.  The SBI only indicted on the basis of a tiny fraction of all the charges made.  In fact, I only found one brief mention on a small portion of one page on what appears to be the Cuthbertson/Rankin incident in the City Attorney's report.  It was sketchy.  I did not find a reference to the computer that was monitored in either report.

3. We recently learned of a letter from another attorney suggesting the city attorney's office may have felt some degree of animus toward the chief.  We previously heard about the hostile, prosecutorial cross-examinations administered to Wray and his men during the RMA investigation, which led some to feel the process was stacked against them.

What matters is not Johnson's style during the meeting, but instead whether the entire matter was handled correctly.  The loss of trust claimed by Johnson and the City Council depends upon their achieving an accurate, reasonable and honorable interpretation of the facts.  But on this day, there are serious questions as to whether this occurred.

Wray mentioned during the meeting that "Joe Williams is already spreading the word that the Chief would be gone by the 12th."

If true, this is a curious piece of inside information for a mere plaintiff's attorney-- a private attorney practicing employment discrimination law-- to possess.  Does every plaintiff's attorney, and the attorney of every disgruntled city employee, command the ability to arrange official meetings for employees to lob repeated charges at department heads?  Do each of these attorneys then have the ability to trigger an administrative process in which the employer readily admits discrimination committed on multiple occasions?  Somehow, I doubt it.  This seems like an extraordinary set of occurrences.

But of course,  Mr. Williams' role as a principal in the local political machine is now reasonably well known.  That machine has had significant influence over city council members who employ Mr. Johnson.  Jerry Bledsoe reported that, earlier that summer, Williams had engaged the assistance of two city council members on this matter.  This is not the usual modus operandi of the typical attorney representing city employees in matters before the city.  City Council members should not usually be actively engaged in the legal complaints of existing city employees.

So before we get carried away with the civil manner in which the Wray/Johnson meeting was conducted, we need to remember the ugly circumstances that led to that fateful meeting.  The city manager and the city council do not need to demonstrate whether they are "nice".  That is irrelevant.  Instead, they need to demonstrate whether they did the right thing, and indeed, whether they were even trying to do the right thing.  That is not even remotely clear at this time.  The burden of proof is on them-- the city council, city manager and city attorney-- to justify their actions in view of Bledsoe's series.

Their burden of proof has not yet been met.

It is critically important that these issues be discussed openly and honestly by candidates during this election season.  Political campaigns are opportune times to have candid discussions about issues such as these.  Unfortunately, many of the candidates are currying favor with the machine of which Mr. Williams is a part. 

The apparent injustice associated with the GPD matter remains a matter of concern for many members of this community.   That sense of injustice was not reduced one iota with the audio to which we have all become privy.

Comments

[meblogin]

What a great well thought out presentation!!!!

Thanks

me

[Anthony]

Are people really making a big deal somewhere out of how respectful and professional Johnson was? That seems pretty irrelevant. As you said, the facts are what matter.

[Warthog]

If there really is such a thing as karma, then Mitch Johnson is starting to sweat .45 caliber-size bullets.

[Fred Gregory]

Joe, splendidly put. An extraordinary set of events indeed !

David Wray , as he said, walked out of that meeting with his head held high, having demonstrated character, integrity, class and the courage of his convictions that he had done no wrong despite the ruthless and scurrilous attack on him by the media and a small but politically influential group of malcontent officers, determined to oust him. Mitch Johnson on the other hand, nice or not, was there as the executioner simply following orders of his masters, to administer the coup de grace as the final step in this maliciously orhestrated plot. The world turned upside down !

[Bill Knight]

I read the Risk Management Associates (RMA) report three times last year. I found it to be poorly written, without professionalism, and totally subjective. A hypothesis was asserted - that David Wray had lied to Mitch Johnson. The report then proceeded to try and prove the assertion; without a shred of objective data to back its conclusion.

I regret the fact Greensboro taxpayers paid for this piece of dribble. In retrospect, it proved nothing.

[Joe Guarino]

Meblogin, Anthony, Oak and Fred, I appreciate your comments.

When looking at that meeting, I think we have to remember that this was the culmination of a process in which the opposing attorney was granted extraordinary amounts of access, and a remarkable capacity to influence events. And by some uncanny coincidence, that opposing attorney also happened to be one of the power brokers in a local political machine to which many city council members have historically turned for endorsements.

[Joe Guarino]

Mr. Knight,I appreciate so much your comments, and I agree. The RMA report was described as the smoking gun that contained incontrovertible evidence of all the bad things that happened in the GPD under Wray's leadership. In fact, it turned out to be an extended argument that Wray had misled Johnson; and that point was effectively rebutted by Bledsoe.

I know, Mr. Knight, that as a candidate for an at-large position on the city council, you take certain risks by being frank and open on these matters. The local political culture unfortunately will not look very favorably upon that.

But I hope you will continue; and appreciate and commend your apparent willingness to do so.

[meblogin]

I would vote for Bill Knight based on his opinion of the RMA report.

[Brenda Bowers]

Joe thank you for the mention in your post; it certainly wasn’t necessary. I was simply trying to pass on a few pointers I was able to recall about Verbal Analysis to help people understand better what to listen for to better understand the Wray-Johnson report. Just for what it might be worth to them. I have been out of the field for a loooong time.

As is always true you brought everything together for us in a manner easily understood. Thank you.

Mr. Knight was going to get my and my husband’s vote previous to his statement on this site, but now I intend to actively speak for him when ever and where ever I can. The people of Greensboro who have been at all attuned to what is going on have in the main been ashamed of and disapproving of the City Council’s actions even when they feel they simply don’t know enough to know exactly what happened. Regardless of what happens with this entire episode the city would do well to get rid of Mitch Johnson as the population has “lost faith” in him. Mr. Knight I feel sure will see to this.

[Joe Guarino]

Brenda, I feel Mr. Knight is an excellent candidate. He brings financial credentials to the plate as a retired CPA; expresses appropriate positions on the questionnaire he returned to us; and demonstrates independence, professionalism and maturity. We need all of that.

[Warthog]

Today's edition in the Rhino makes this whole episode look simply appalling and pathetic. Not only does it appear that Mitch Johnson, aided by Linda Miles, is a little weasel, but the mayor and city council seem to be scurrying now to cover their tracks before the elections.

Is it likely that David Wray and Mitch Johnson would be called to testify in Sanders and Fox trial? Now, that would be a show of the likes never seen in Greensboro.

[Joe Guarino]

Oak, I have my summary of today's Rhino installment posted. You are right-- it is a humdinger.