Chief on cops' racist texts: Three have quit, three tagged for firing, department under review

The news conference was supposed to be an update on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's third-quarter crime statistics.

But when Chief Estella Patterson stepped to the lectern, she had something else to address first: reports that six CMPD officers were under investigation over racist and sexist messages shared in a group text.

Patterson said the reports left her feeling "disgust, anger, frustration."

"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.

Three of the officers have resigned, Patterson said, and the other three she hoped "to soon refer to as former employees."

Patterson said CMPD has begun a department-wide audit of officer interactions and body-worn camera footage to identify misconduct. She said CMPD would also review its hiring practices to identify possible "gaps or shortcomings," and that she and other executive staff members have been meeting with officers during routine roll calls to reinforce expectations of proper officer conduct.

"I believe that all of these steps collectively will help us identify employees who are exhibiting bias toward others," Patterson said.

Under city rules, Patterson does not have the authority to fire officers. That power rests with Charlotte's Civil Service Board. Patterson said she had recommended the remaining officers be fired, and hoped the board would approve their termination.

Patterson said CMPD had also begun the process of seeking to revoke the officers' North Carolina law enforcement certificates — which would prevent them from working as police officers anywhere in the state. She said she hoped "that they will not be an officer anywhere in this country."

Racist, sexist texts come to light

WBTV first reported the allegations earlier this week, citing anonymous sources who said the officers exchanged racist text messages that included a competition to see who could pull over the most Black drivers.

The messages also reportedly included repeated uses of the N-word in discussions about using force and firing weapons at Black residents.

According to WBTV, the messages were discovered during a separate State Bureau of Investigation probe into CMPD Officer Seth Elliot, who was accused of misusing the Flock Safety camera network and other police technology to help someone involved in a drug investigation.

Investigators uncovered the text messages after downloading data from Elliot's phone and shared them with CMPD, which launched its own internal investigation. Elliot has since resigned and faces a criminal charge related to the alleged misuse of the Flock Safety technology.

At Thursday's news conference, Patterson said four of the six officers involved in the group text graduated from the police academy in 2024. She said the officers were of three different races, though she declined to specify which. Patterson said the messages dated back years, and although she had not read all of them, they demonstrated racial, sexual and religious biases.

'Not a systemic problem'

While the six officers were hired before Patterson became chief in December 2025, she said, "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."

While CMPD had not uncovered evidence any of the six officers violated residents' civil rights, Patterson said she nonetheless had asked federal officials to investigate.

As for the news conference's stated purpose — to update the public on recent crime trends — Patterson had more positive news to share: Overall crime was down 17% so far this year compared to last year, and crime in Charlotte's city center was down a considerable 23% — including a 38% drop in violent crime.