A year-long dispute between Boulder officials and leaders of the local NAACP chapter over the city’s new police chief took a fresh turn Wednesday when the city manager accused members of the civil rights organization of attempting to use blackmail to prevent the chief’s permanent hiring. A member of the Boulder County NAACP secretly recorded what was intended to be a confidential mediation session on July 25 between three members of the civil rights organization, Boulder police Chief Stephen Redfearn, police chief of staff Alastair McNiven and City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde, the city manager alleged in a news release Wednesday. Boulder County NAACP president Annett James then threatened in an email to make that information public if the city hired Redfearn — the Boulder Police Department’s interim chief — as the permanent police chief, Rivera-Vandermyde alleged in the news release.