The Greensboro Police Department confirmed in a press release that City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba did call Police Chief John Thompson on Dec. 28, 2023, when police officers were responding to 911 calls from Jaiyeoba’s home.
The press release on Friday, Feb. 16 at 5:04 p.m. is a marvel of obfuscation.
According to the press release, “The city manager called Chief Thompson to notify him of the incident shortly after it occurred. Chief Thompson asked him if someone had contacted 911. Chief Thompson then spoke with the first responding officer on scene and instructed them to deescalate the situation, if necessary, separate the parties, document all interviews, and that the watch commander (the highest ranking officer on duty at the time) would be en route.”
The next sentence in the press release states, “At no time did Mr. Jaiyeoba or anyone from the city manager’s office ask that GPD deviate from its normal investigative procedures.” It does not state who else from the “city manager’s office” was in touch with the police on the night of Dec. 28.
From the press release it would appear that the “normal investigative procedures” for police responding to 911 calls about a domestic disturbance is for the responding officer to be handed a phone with the police chief on the line on arrival at the scene and then for the police chief to dispatch the highest ranking officer on duty to the scene of that domestic disturbance.
It may be true that, as the press release states, Jaiyeoba and others in the city manager’s office did not specifically ask the Police Department “to deviate from its normal investigative procedures.”
But the very fact that the responding officers, instead of dealing with the situation as they found it, were instead dealing with the police chief on the phone, telling them what to do, is a deviation from how most domestic disturbance 911 call responses are handled.
Despite what the city claims, it is not the “normal investigative procedure” for the watch commander to respond to domestic disturbance calls.
Then, of course, there is the matter of the missing police report that, according to the press release, was not missing at all. According to the press release, “An incident report was entered into our digital database on Dec. 29 and online access was restricted among department employees and the public due to the sensitive information within it. A printed copy of the incident report from the digital database was available upon request.”
Except that the written report wasn’t available upon request until elected officials and senior city staff insisted that it be released.
So, according to the press release, the two 911 calls about a domestic disturbance at Jaiyeoba’s house were handled just like the hundreds of other domestic disturbance calls that are made in Greensboro – with the exception that the responding police officers spoke to the police chief by phone when they arrived on the scene, the “highest ranking officer on duty at the time” was dispatched to the call, a senior investigator was assigned to investigate the call and consult with the district attorney’s office, and as a result no charges were filed.
And while a police report was reportedly filed, it was not made available to the public.
So the 911 calls from Jaiyeoba’s home were handled just like every other 911 call about a domestic disturbance is handled, with the notable exception that very little about the police response was handled like the police response to a normal domestic disturbance 911 call.
Thanks John. Story seems to still smell, lol.
Nice work. With any luck, all incumbents currently on the City Council will surely be reelected to insure this type of transparency can continue long into the City’s future AND our outstanding City Manager can receive an even larger pay increase.
This one is not complicated at all. Given the very exact same set of circumstances stances, you or me as a regular taxpayer ABSOLUTELY WOULD NOT have been pampered as Jaiyeoba was. Am not critical of GPD as a whole, but obviously their leadership is led around by the short hairs by the political hacks ruling over Greensboro.
Only in GBoro.
3 people are involved in a dispute. One person is injured (shoulder which required a sling). If 2 or more people are directly involved with causing the injury it is called assault. When the 2 or more people are related it is called domestic violence. Domestic violence with personal injury is usually an automatic arrest.
In Greensboro, if you are the city manager, you have a direct line to the police chief and unless they talked about buying beachfront property in Arkansas there is something fishy. Who directed no arrests? Who directed a paper report instead of a computer generated report? Who directed not to release public reports?
The next question is when did the city manager call the mayor? After he called the police chief or before? Did the mayor then call the police chief? Did the mayor ask the police chief to not follow normal reporting procedures? Did the mayor ask for no arrests?
So many questions . The one thing we do know. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it must be a duck except in Greensboro where domestic violence is permitted for one and not for anybody else.
I know someone just recently who had a dispute with his girlfriend he had no injury at all but girlfriend hit wall with her fist and headed butted wall because she was mad at him, she called police thou on him, he had no injury at all after they talked to her, they talked to him and basic told him he was lieing, as if they was there to witness it they arrested him and he had spent night in jail, so my question is what is difference between the too beside he’s just a citizen and not city manager.
The Greensboro Police Department has set precedence for how to handle 911 calls involving a domestic disturbance. So, listen up all you people involved in 911 calls involving domestic disturbances. Demand, demand, I say to speak with the Police Chief while the police are present. If you are not permitted, file a lawsuit citing unequal and biased treatment under the 14th Amendment. Good luck.
This would have been handled like the 400K to buy a gun show name if the public had not ask questions. There is no transparency in this city government.
‘cuz he dint doo nuffin !
I have been reading the “official” releases from the Putin government about the death of Alexei Navalny. Although the incidents have no similarity whatsoever, the obfuscation concerning what happened, who was involved, and the details (which are still delayed in that case, but will probably be forthcoming, eventually, when the narrative is perfected) are amusingly similar. What is it about high officials that demands such secrecy? This is not Russia, and the City Manager is not a murderer. But his privacy and reputation is not above the law, nor entitled to treatment that is different in any way from any other citizen.
Does the Greensboro City Council and ,especially Mayor Vaughn ,really expect us to believe their statement. The facts speak for themselves. The City Manager got preferential treatment from the Chief of Police and we all know it. Please publish the Police Chief’s cell phone number so I can call him in the event of a police investigation. It sure walks like a duck…
Fire this city manager!
Does this “watch commander” have a name?
Possibly all the individuals involved in this event are Democrats.
Draw your own conclusions.
This conversation is so stupid ….of course there was special treatment plus ther was an attempted coverup.
SSDD Delay, delay, delay, soon it’s yesterdays news and everyone forgets about it.
From the White House down it works!
These aren’t the droids you’re looking for – Obi-Wan Kenobi
The NC SBI needs to be involved. BTW there is an excellent fact-filled article on this in today’s Winston-Salem Journal.
So just for my slow ole brain, let me see if I understand. First the Chief is called before 5 GPD officers arrive, then after the Chief speaks to the on scene officers he tells them the top watch commander is dispatched as well as a Chief detective then also don’t forget the EMS After all that the DA is contacted and he decides no charges are warranted. I’m curious as to how the happened normally a DA would not be involved until someone is arrested and goes before a magistrate. What crock of Greensboro horse dung and not to mention the amount of man hours involved with everyone on the scene. Shame on the entire council for condoning the whole affair, the manager for playing dumb and acting like h wasn’t treated special and for the Police Chief for putting himself in the position he’s in. Bad judgment all around. Publish the Chiefs number for all tax paying citizens to have.
Please, let us make Greensboro a City that WE ALL will be proud to live here!!! Think of the Citizens first. What will be the best for everyone here. The quality of life is the most important part of life for ALL persons. That is the thing that makes a city stand out as a wonderful City to live in and near. Life is simple and keep it simple by all of us being proud of living here. Life is always better when we live with each other in harmony and peace. Take a walk in the wonderful parks in Greensboro. Feel how proud we are to be here. Live a lile in peace and joy and appreciation and love. AND, most import, give of ourselves to each other. LET uS LIVE IN PEACE!!! WE ALL can be proud to be here. Appreciate the JOY of being here on earth for the time that WE are here!!! What else will makes things better than PEACH ON EARTH!!!
As a kid we used to call that ‘doing the Tea-berry Shuffle’
The City Council should have immediately suspended the City Manager with pay until the domestic incident was fully investigated. But I guess how can they do this when they didn’t do this when they were involved in police incidents themselves. John please do a pirt request of the employee conduct policy.#my2cents