Five officers resigned recently from a North Carolina police agency – and a sixth remained suspended – after they allegedly exchanged racist texts.
The chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department (CMPD) said the messages came to light during an investigation into misuse of its Flock camera system.
The department on Monday released personnel files identifying the officers after a public information request by local media.
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.
“As a Black woman who began my career here in this very department, it is especially painful and disheartening to hear concerns from our community about racism coming from within the ranks of this organization,” Patterson said.
“Although the officers involved in this investigation were hired before my tenure as chief, that does not lessen my responsibility or my commitment to making sure that what was discovered in this case is not a systemic problem in this organization.”
Patterson did not disclose the content of the texts, which contained racist slurs and alleged use of the N-word, according to ABC News.
The five former officers were named by the CMPD on Monday as Mateo Juarez, Joseph Kelly, Tredan Maronic, Matthew Osborn and Alexander Larsen. All were hired in ۲۰۲۳ or ۲۰۲۴, and Patterson had cited them for termination.
According to Charlotte news outlet WSOC, one was president of their recruit class, and another received an employee of the month award earlier in the year. The outlet said one of the messages likened the officers to a “clan rally”, an apparent reference to rallies held by the murderous white nationalist Ku Klux Klan.
A sixth officer, Jeremiah Todman, who was hired in ۲۰۲۲, remains suspended pending the outcome of the investigation and a civil service board review, the CMPD said in a statement.
A seventh officer, Seth Elliot, resigned in August after being alleged to have improperly viewed Flock camera data. Elliot’s resignation came days after his arrest by the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation for illegally accessing a government computer.
“The department remains committed to accountability and providing access to public records in accordance with the law, while respecting the integrity of any ongoing investigations and potential legal proceedings,” the CMPD statement said.
So far, none of the officers have been charged with any criminal wrongdoing in relation to the text exchanges. ABC said it was unclear if any of them other than Elliott had retained an attorney – and reported that his lawyer, George Laughrun, did not return a request for comment.
The Guardian has contacted the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police lodge that represents the department’s officers for comment.
Beside pursuing the officers’ termination, Patterson said she intended to seek the revocation of their state law licenses. She said the episode had prompted her to review how the CMPD interacts with the public.
“I have been concerned whether this type of behavior is systemic throughout the department,” she said. “We have begun and will continue auditing [body-worn camera] footage. We’re going to look at the interactions that our officers are having with members of the public to make sure that they are outstanding.
“The overwhelming majority of our employees do exceptional work every single day. They come to work to serve this community, and they demonstrate that in their actions. They do their work with respect, with compassion, and professionalism.
“We will not allow the misconduct of a few to define the whole.”
