Six CMPD officers face firing amid alleged racist text messages
The
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department cited six officers for termination last week and sources have told WCNC Charlotte it's all linked to concerns about racist text messages.
WCNC Charlotte has learned the six officers are suspended without pay pending hearings before the
Civil Service Board. Meanwhile, records show another officer resigned in August. Sources say that officer is connected to this case.
CMPD has not yet provided official termination records that would detail the reasons for the recommended firings, but WCNC Charlotte obtained a message reportedly sent by one of the officers to colleagues earlier this year that references how "our texts sound like a clan rally."
‘Deeply troubling’ messages came to light during investigation into misuse of Flock camera system
www.theguardian.com
The discovery of the “deeply troubling” messages, said Estella Patterson, the police chief, at a news conference on Thursday, prompted a full review of body-worn camera footage and arrest records of the officers – and a request to the FBI for a civil rights investigation.
According to sources who spoke to WBTV on the condition of anonymity, the text thread between some officers includes a competition over who can pull over the most black drivers.
www.wbtv.com
According to sources who spoke to WBTV on the condition of anonymity, the text thread between some Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers includes a competition over who can pull over the most black drivers. There are also numerous uses of the “n-word” related to use of force and discharging firearms at black residents.
Multiple sources say the text messages were discovered while the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was investigating Charlotte-Mecklenburg police
officer Seth Elliott for misuse of the Flock network.