Six Charlotte Police Officers Face Firing Over Alleged Racist Chat About Who Could Pull Over the Most Black Drivers

Six Charlotte police officers were recommended for dismissal last week amid allegations of racist messages, local broadcasters reported, with WBTV describing a chat about who could pull over the most black drivers.

The messages reportedly emerged during an investigation into an officer's use of police number plate reader technology. The six officers are suspended without pay pending Civil Service Board hearings, while personnel records identify another officer who resigned in August.

Charlotte Police Messages Under Scrutiny

WBTV reporter David Hodges, citing sources, described messages about competing to pull over and arrest black residents. He also reported alleged references to racial slurs, force and discharging firearms towards black residents.

Those accounts concern the messages' contents and do not establish that particular stops or uses of force occurred. The department did not confirm or deny those details in its response to the broadcaster.

WCNC Charlotte obtained a message reportedly sent by one officer to colleagues earlier in the year, containing the words 'our texts sound like a clan rally.' The department had not provided termination records detailing the reasons for the recommended dismissals.

Personnel records examined by the station indicated that all seven officers had joined during roughly the previous three years. Four shared the same start date. The station withheld their names because the six facing dismissal had not been charged with crimes.

Camera Inquiry Behind Charlotte Police Investigation

The Charlotte Observer, citing its partner WSOC, reported that the messages surfaced during an investigation into Officer Seth Elliott's use of the Flock camera system.

The Observer's earlier reporting described Elliott obtaining information for a college friend who was allegedly dealing mushrooms and marijuana in Boone. An undercover officer had been buying from that friend, and Elliott allegedly exposed the officer by passing on information from the system.

Investigators discovered the thread while reviewing Elliott's phone data. His lawyer declined to comment to the broadcaster on the racist text allegations, explaining that Elliott had resigned more than a month earlier and was concentrating on the separate criminal case against him.

Accountability Pledge From Charlotte Police Chief

In a statement issued to local media on Monday, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department declared, 'We will not tolerate any behavior that contradicts our core values or jeopardizes the trust we have built with the community we serve.'

The department outlined Chief Estella Patterson's visits to every unit during her first 100 days in office to communicate expectations and reinforce ethical standards.

Patterson had identified accountability as a priority in a December 2025 interview. 'Well, I'm the kind of chief that's going to hold my employees accountable.'

Her predecessor, Johnny Jennings, explained in a 2020 interview that applicants underwent implicit bias screenings and psychological evaluations, while recognising that the recruitment system could not identify every problem.

Speaking upon his promotion amid racial unrest, Jennings outlined the need to identify officers with biases and act swiftly to prevent their contact with the public.

A Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office spokesperson explained, speaking generally, that prosecutors must independently determine whether violations reveal untruthfulness or bias serious enough that an officer can no longer be relied upon as a state witness.

The six officers' recommended dismissals remain subject to Civil Service Board hearings.