Public Safety · Charlotte, NC
FBI Investigating Charlotte Police for Racist Texts, Civil Rights Violations
The FBI is investigating the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department after six officers from the same 2024 graduating class were found using racial, sexual, and religious slurs in text messages dating back several years. Chief Estella Patterson announced at a Thursday news conference that three officers resigned and three are on unpaid administrative leave pending termination approval by a city board. The messages were discovered during a State Bureau of Investigation probe into officer Seth Elliott's misuse of Flock license plate reader technology. No evidence of problematic traffic stops or arrest records was found among the involved officers, but the Mecklenburg County District Attorney's Office had not yet begun reviewing potentially affected criminal cases as of Wednesday evening.