CMPD racist texts also had sexual, religious bias, chief says
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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Estella Patterson confirmed on Thursday that the racist text thread among six officers also revealed religious and sexual bias and dated back several years.
Driving the news: Patterson was speaking publicly for the first time about reports of six officers using the N-word and bragging about pulling over Black residents, as WBTV reported.
The latest: Patterson says three of the officers involved in the texts have resigned from the department, and the other three she hopes "to soon refer to as former employees."
- Following a hearing, an independent chain-of-command board unanimously cited the six for termination.
- The next step: CMPD's Civil Service Board has the final say in firing sworn officers, she explained.
- Because this is a personnel matter, CMPD is not releasing the officers' names and is disclosing limited information on the texts.
- But Patterson did confirm four officers were from the same class of 2024.
What she's saying: "As a Black woman who began my career here in this very department, it's especially painful and disheartening to hear concerns from our community about racism," Patterson said during Thursday's quarterly public safety report.
- Patterson says CMPD will seek to have the officers' North Carolina law enforcement certificates revoked so they cannot become officers elsewhere in the state.
- "I hope that they will not be an officer anywhere in this country," she added.
- CMPD reviewed the officers traffic stops data, arrest records and whether there were external complaints. "As of this point, we have not found any evidence of this, but I have asked our federal partners to look at the possibility of civil rights violations," Patterson said.
What's next: "I have been concerned whether this type of behavior is systemic throughout the department," Patterson said.
- She said CMPD will continue auditing body-worn camera footage.
- In September, Charlotte City Council approved a $125,000 contract for a new early intervention software system that flags problematic patterns in officer behavior.