Charlotte PD releases names of seven officers in racist text scandal as federal probe deepens
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) has identified seven officers involved in a scandal involving racist, sexist, and religiously biased text messages. Five officers resigned after being cited for termination, one remains suspended pending a Civil Service Board review, and a seventh resigned earlier in connection with a separate Flock camera misuse case. Chief Estella Patterson stated the department will seek to revoke the officers' state law enforcement certificates to bar them from policing in North Carolina. Federal agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice, are investigating potential civil rights violations, though internal reviews of traffic stops and body-worn camera footage have not yet found evidence of discriminatory policing. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP has called for stricter hiring and training practices, while the Fraternal Order of Police declined to comment.