Dallas to release tape Mayor Dwaine Caraway tried to keep secret

(CBS/AP) DALLAS - Dallas city officials said they planned to make public Wednesday a potentially embarrassing audiotape made by police when they spoke to Dallas Mayor Dwaine Caraway after a domestic disturbance at his home.

State District Judge Teresa Guerra Snelson rejected Caraway's request Tuesday to extend a temporary court order she issued in March to suppress the tape. City Attorney Tom Perkins said the city would release the tape and other material requested by the news media Wednesday. City Attorney Tom Perkins said the city would release the tape and other material requested by the news media by midmorning Wednesday.

Caraway, who was mayor pro tem when the disturbance occurred in January, filed suit against the city and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott seeking to block the release of the tape after Abbott ruled it couldn't be withheld under the Texas Public Information Act. Caraway sought to stop the tape's release by saying it was a private matter that didn't warrant public disclosure.

"I'm a little disappointed, but I'm glad this is behind us," Caraway said after a 5½-hour hearing in which he testified for two hours.

He added that, while he felt obligated to his job, he also felt obligated to protect his personal privacy.

"I have a responsibility to this city, but I also have a right as a private citizen to have my privacy respected," Caraway said. "My privacy has been disrespected."

Caraway was elevated to the mayor's post when Tom Leppert resigned last month to run for the U.S. Senate. Caraway is not among the candidates seeking the job permanently in a May 14 election, but he is running to retain his seat on the City Council.

The tape was made by members of the Dallas Police Department's Special Investigations Unit when it was dispatched to Caraway's home by Chief David Brown on Jan. 2.

Deputy Chief Craig Miller, who heads the unit, testified that officers spoke to Caraway in an unmarked police vehicle with a recording device.

No charges were filed, although an incident report was generated.

Caraway initially told The Dallas Morning News that the matter involved two individuals named Arthur and Archie who were at his home arguing over a football game they were watching. However, he later acknowledged at a City Council meeting that the dispute was in fact between him and his wife, state Rep. Barbara Caraway.

During two hours of testimony, Dwaine Caraway stressed that releasing the tape would damage his 16-year marriage. He also said that he never intended to summon police to his home. He said he called Brown as a "friend" and that the chief sent the Special Investigations Unit to his house without his knowledge.

Caraway testified that he agreed to speak with the officers in their vehicle never realizing that he was being recorded. He said he didn't learn that he'd been recorded until he was informed by city officials eight days later.

Paul Watler, an attorney for The Dallas Morning News, which intervened in the suit, said Caraway's status as a city official and a candidate running for office made his claims of privacy moot.