Charlotte police officers face firing over alleged racist group chat

Six patrol officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department have been suspended without pay and face potential termination following an investigation into a group chat containing racial slurs. The messages allegedly included a competition among officers to see who could stop the most Black drivers, with one officer remarking that the communications “sound like a clan rally.”

A seventh officer involved in the matter resigned in August. The investigation into the group chat was triggered by an unrelated probe into officer Seth Elliott, who was charged in July with the illegal use of Flock license-plate-reader technology to assist in a drug investigation. The text messages and phone data from that investigation were subsequently turned over to the department.

The officers will undergo hearings before the city’s Civil Service Board before final decisions regarding their employment are made. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department stated it is committed to upholding standards of integrity and professionalism and will not tolerate such behavior.