CHARLOTTE — Six Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers have been implicated in a scandal involving racist and sexist text messages sent in a group chat.
Three of the officers have resigned following the discovery of the messages, while civil rights leaders are seeking the revocation of state certifications for all involved.
Police officials are reviewing hiring procedures and the role of the Civil Service Board to determine how the scandal originated.
Dismissal notices for the officers have been delivered to the city clerk’s office as part of the formal disciplinary process.
The NAACP Charlotte Chapter is calling on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to identify all six officers involved in the group chat scandal.
Corine Mack, president of the NAACP Charlotte Chapter, said the organization and other advocates are seeking to have the officers’ state certifications revoked so they cannot join other law enforcement agencies.
“We don’t want anyone to leave Charlotte and go to Union County or go to Gaston County or go to any other county and do the same kind of foolery,” Mack said.
She added that the organization hopes the board will grant the police chief’s request to terminate the remaining three officers.
Before personnel can enter the police academy and receive badges, they must receive authorization from the Civil Service Board. Recruiters present candidates to the board for review.
Tom Baldwin, a retired banker, served on the board from 2016 to 2024. “If we have issues, we will ask for more information,” Baldwin said. Board members review each candidate’s file to determine fitness for service.
Ryan McGill was elected to the board in 2020, served as chairman starting in 2021, and departed in 2023. “I’m a military guy; my background has been military for 21 years active,” McGill said.
Board members noted that candidate reviews led to difficult discussions with police leadership.
“So a couple of times we had discussions with CMPD and even the senior leadership to say, ‘Hey, we’re not here to be a rubber stamp; we’re here to find the best candidates,’” McGill said. “We’ll go through each candidate.”
Disagreements between the board and department leadership centered on applicant qualification standards. “We did have conflict, just to be serious and honest about it, but we continued to work through it and have a discussion about it,” Baldwin said.
McGill noted that concerns were brought to police leadership repeatedly. “On multiple occasions, we were like, ‘Hey, we don’t feel like you are taking all we are saying to heart and following through on it,’” McGill said.
The friction occurred while the department faced pressure to recruit officers because of a surge in anticipated retirements.
An anonymous former board member reported that the department attempted to pressure the board in 2024 to approve candidates.
Dr. Seth Stoughton, a law enforcement expert at the University of South Carolina School of Law, warned against lowering recruitment standards during hiring shortages.
“That’s hard in an era of strained manpower where we are struggling to hire. Sometimes the idea of hiring those who are most suitable gives way to hiring people with minimum qualifications. Well, they’re not unsuitable, but there is a really big difference between the people who are most sutable and the folks who are not suitable,” Stoughton said.
Dismissal hearings for the officers implicated in the inquiry are expected to take place next year. The Civil Service Board will review the department’s requests regarding the termination of the remaining three officers.
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