The Greensboro Police Officers Association sent out a press release on Thursday, Sept. 5, noting that police officers under investigation were not being treated uniformly.

The press release doesn’t mention Deputy Police Chief James Hinson by name, but it does state, “The Triad City Beat reported on Sept. 3, 2019 that a Deputy Chief of the Greensboro Police Department is currently the subject of a criminal investigation being conducted by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Guilford County District Attorney’s Office.”

The Deputy Police Chief is identified in the City Beat article as Hinson.

The allegations have to do with an incident at a group home run by the Center of Progressive Strides (COPS). Hinson is president of COPS and the incident is the subject of a lengthy report by the Division of Health Services of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The report has to do with an allegation made by a client at the COPS group home that he was sexually molested by one of the COPS employees.

The report notes that COPS did not report the allegation to the police or to the Guilford County Department of Social Services as is required.

But what is as troubling as the failure to report the incident is that the investigative unit of the Greensboro Police Department that investigates such allegations is under the direction of Hinson. So allegations made by a client, if reported, according to the police procedure, would be investigated by officers who work under the direction of Hinson, the owner and operator of the group home.

The Greensboro Police Officers Association press release expresses concern about another issue.

The full press release states, “It has been the long-standing policy and practice of the Greensboro Police Department that employees who are the subject of any criminal investigation, whether stemming from an on-duty incident or an off-duty incident, be placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation. As such, numerous rank and file officers of the Greensboro Police Department have been subjected to this practice.

“One of the main purposes of the Greensboro Police Officers Association is to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of our members. Every employee of the Greensboro Police Department should be subject to the same treatment regarding administrative duty. The Triad City Beat reported on September 3, 2019 that a Deputy Chief of the Greensboro Police Department is currently the subject of a criminal investigation being conducted by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Guilford County District Attorney’s Office.”

“The policies applicable and uniformly applied to the rank and file officers of the Greensboro Police Department should be applicable and uniformly applied to all Greensboro Police Department employees, regardless of their rank.”