Robbie Perkins: The tension in the GPD is apparent to me

At-large Greensboro City Councilman Robbie Perkins acknowledged in an e-mail message to the Rev. Nelson Johnson last night that Department has been in turmoil for several years, and unresolved issues have created an environment that leads to many questions from our citizens." He added that City Manager Rashad Young is in the process of "changing the culture within the organization," and he did not think it would be constructive for council to intervene.

Young, Chief Tim Bellamy, Mayor Bill Knight, the Rev. Cardes Brown and the other seven members of the council were carbon copied on the message, but Perkins said he was "responding as an individual member of council.

The full text of the e-mail message appears below:

Subject: RE: Request for Council Intervention in Growing Tensions inside GPD

I am in receipt of your letter and am responding as an individual member of Council.

The issues you raise are varied and complex in nature, and involve past and current employees of the City of Greensboro whose rights are protected under personnel laws.

The tension you describe within the Police Department is apparent to me. The Department has been in turmoil for several years, and unresolved issues have created an environment that leads to many questions from our citizens.

I do not believe it is possible to right every wrong in this matter. What I do know is that we have a City Manager and staff, including the Police Chief, that are committed to what is best for all of the citizens of Greensboro. The Manager is in the process of changing the culture within the organization. This change will not happen overnight, and it certainly will not be helped by Council intervention in work that we are not trained to manage or perform. I know our City is moving in a positive direction. The Police Department will have new leadership by the end of summer, and that very fact will insure that changes will be made. At this point, I must trust the leadership of the Manager and his staff, knowing that none of us are perfect, and this process will result in some level of conflict prior to a successful resolution. For now, we should stay the course and allow the City Manager, staff and the Police Chief to do their jobs, while working through the maze of legal issues as best we can.

Please know that I welcome the opportunity to discuss these and other issues with you in conversations based on respect and fairness to all involved. Do not hesitate to call me at my office at 336-XXX-XXX, or my cell phone at 336-XXX-XXXX.[redacted by YES! Weekly]