CMPD chief to retire
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CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings replaced Kerr Putney in 2020. Photo: Alexandria Sands/Axios
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Chief Johnny Jennings will retire, effective Jan. 1, 2026, Jennings announced Sunday night.
Why it matters: The announcement follows Charlotte City Council's agreement in closed session earlier this month on a six-figure settlement with Jennings in order to avoid a potential lawsuit over comments made by former council member Tariq Bokhari.
The latest: Jennings' settlement with the city is $305,000, the Charlotte Optimist reported Sunday. It's also being referred to as a "separation agreement" and includes:
- $175,000 in severance that he'll receive in January.
- $45,699 will be split between two payments for Jennings to stay until the end of the year.
- $25,000 to cover the costs of the ordeal, such as legal counsel.
- $14,017 for a 5% merit increase, which is retroactive to the start of the year.
- 40 additional vacation days, valued at $45,284. Jennings may use these days or be paid for them when he leaves next year.
Catch up quick: Bokhari told Jennings he would call for his resignation and work to "cripple" his legacy if he did not agree to let officers wear outer-carrier vests, according to texts published by WFAE.
- Jennings had restricted officers from wearing the vests because they didn't align with his department's "community-oriented policing philosophies," according to the Charlotte Optimist.
- The vests offer extra protection from gunfire, WFAE reported, but can make officers appear intimidating.
- The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police was expected to begin accepting ballots for a vote of no confidence on Monday, May 26, WCNC reported.
Zoom out: Republican state auditor Dave Boliek is investigating the City of Charlotte for "the $100,000 to $300,000 in public dollars [that] may have been given" to Jennings to avoid a potential lawsuit, Axios' Alexandria Sands reported.
- "Our goal with launching this investigation was simple: bring transparency to the City of Charlotte. The people of Charlotte, along with all North Carolinians, deserve to know where their tax dollars are going," Boliek said in a statement Sunday night.
What's next: Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones will lead a national search for CMPD's next chief.
Flashback: Jennings has served as chief since July 1, 2020. He joined CMPD in May 1992 as a member of their 108th recruit class.
- He didn't have to take the job, Jennings told the Charlotte Optimist. The now 57-year-old Jennings was eligible to retire five years ago.
- "Most athletes would love to retire with the same team that they came in on, and that's difficult to do," Jennings, who played college football at Appalachian State, told the Charlotte Optimist's Michael Graff. "So, you know, there are very few of us [who] get an opportunity to be a chief in your originating department, and it was hard to pass that up."