News & Record
GREENSBORO, N.C. — When is it OK for a police officer to have a second job?
That question is at the heart of a debate involving city public records policies and a Greensboro police captain.
City Councilwoman Nancy Vaughan has raised questions about a possible conflict in police Capt. James Hinson’s dual roles as leader of the police department’s eastern patrol division and as director of two group homes located there.
Interim City Attorney Jamiah Water said records involving an employee’s outside work usually cannot be released, arguing that they fall under a state law that requires the city to keep employee information confidential.
Vaughan doesn’t buy that explanation. She questioned whether Hinson’s subordinates could appropriately investigate an emergency at one of his homes.
The city should not “hide behind technicalities” to withhold documents, Vaughan wrote in a letter to the city manager and attorney on Tuesday.
“We need to be more forthcoming with our public records,” Vaughan said.
Police Chief Ken Miller said Tuesday that there have been no allegations of a conflict of interest regarding Hinson’s two jobs.
If one did come to light, it would be investigated, he said.
“Our employees are taught rules of conduct,” Miller said. “We talk about abuse of authority. We may not use for personal gain our positions.”
Hinson, a department veteran who was promoted to captain last year, was at the heart of an alleged racial discrimination scandal in the police department five years ago.
Hinson and fellow officer Kevin Chandler own the Center of Progressive Strides , which operates two northeast Greensboro group homes for troubled youth.
Local blogger Ben Holder requested information from the city about Hinson.
When Holder didn’t get what he wanted, he asked the City Council last week to intervene and release documents that detail Hinson’s second job.
Vaughan, Councilwoman Yvonne Johnson and Councilwoman Trudy Wade asked the city staff to explain the outside employment policy for police. Vaughan raised a concern that eastern division patrol officers - Hinson’s employees - may be put in an awkward position when dealing with the group homes.
“If there is a call, how is that going to be investigated? To me, that is just a recipe for disaster,” Vaughan said Tuesday.
In the past four years, the Glenside Drive home was referenced in more than 40 calls to 911. Most were reports about missing teenagers, according to city records.
Miller said no conflicts of interest related to Hinson’s outside employment have arisen.
“When someone accuses someone of abusing their authority, we investigate that,” Miller said.
Hinson’s attorney, Amiel Rossabi, declined to say exactly how much time the captain spends at his second job, but he said Hinson does not perform group-home work while on city duty.
Rossabi said Hinson was being singled out.
“Nobody else’s off-duty work is scrutinized like this,” Rossabi said.
Greensboro allows officers to have second jobs if the jobs don’t interfere with their duty to the department, according to police attorney Jim Clark.
An officer must submit a form that describes the second job. Waterman said those forms are not public documents, unless they are part of a “personnel action,” like a demotion, and it is necessary to reveal that information to maintain public confidence.
That explanation didn’t cut it for Vaughan. She said she will ask her colleagues to form a special committee to explore the city’s public records policies.
“I don’t believe the city is forthcoming with their records,” she said. “They employ the personnel exclusion much too often.”
Interim City Manager Denise Turner Roth said her policy always has been to provide public documents quickly when it’s allowed.
Roth said the questions raised by Holder will be investigated. She plans to discuss what she finds with the council in closed session next week.
Copyright 2012 News & Record