Charlotte City Council member Tariq Bokhari told police Chief Johnny Jennings this summer that he would put “maximum pressure” on the city manager to fire him. He also said he would work to cripple the chief’s legacy, according to text messages obtained by WFAE.
The dispute was over Jennings’ initial refusal to allow patrol officers to wear outer-carrier vests, which could help protect them from gunfire.
Bokhari, a Republican, said he had been advocating for patrol officers to wear the vests for more than two years.
This spring, he ramped up his pressure campaign on the chief after a wanted man shot eight law enforcement officers who were trying to serve a warrant on him in east Charlotte. Four were killed in the deadliest day in Charlotte’s law enforcement history.
Soon after, Bokhari began publicly advocating for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police to allow patrol officers to wear outer-carrier vests. The Fraternal Order of the Police backed him.
Jennings resisted.
The vests — which feature pockets for ammunition and other gear, similar to soldiers’ battle dress — were already used by units like SWAT and vice.
But Jennings said at the time the vests wouldn’t necessarily offer any additional protection, noting that three of the officers killed in April were wearing them. He also said it was a “military-style appearance that contradicts the community-oriented policing philosophy I have championed for years.”
‘We are locked in on this path’
The two men’s text messages a month later showed they both knew there was going to be a rift.
On May 30, Bokhari wrote that “whatever happens from this point forward is not personal.” Jennings responded: “As long as you stick to that, we’re fine. Just know that I don’t plan on sitting on my hands either.”
Bokhari responded: “I love you dearly as a friend and always will, but we are locked in on this path now.”
Jennings wrote back: “Not sure of your plan, but it sounds like you’re getting ready to get personal.”
Two weeks later, Bokhari gave an interview to WCNC about the vests.
In pushing for the vests, Bokhari said: “It became less of me trying to convince the chief and me telling the chief alright we have to get this done now.”
The text messages, which haven’t been previously reported, show just how personal the fight got.
In early July, he texted Jennings that the chief had “made a terrible error in judgment, my friend. I hate what comes next.”
He continued: “As your friend, I want you to know what happens next. I’ll be demanding your resignation starting Monday. I’ll be hammering you from the press, the private sector, the foundations, the general assembly, congress and several high-profile national organizations.”
He said he would put maximum pressure on the city manager to fire Jennings.
Bokhari acknowledged he might not win, but wrote: “I will not stop and it will cripple your legacy you’ve worked so hard for. Just a final bit of food for thought. You have 36 hours to call it all off by compromising in some small way. Otherwise it’s in God’s hands.”
He urged the chief to support the “rank and file you have a sacred duty to support.”
He then wrote he had a “set of skills that I can promise you will be a very uncomfortable experience.”
Jennings never responded by text.
But a few weeks later, CMPD said officers and sergeants could apply to wear the vests without seeking a medical waiver. (Officers had been allowed to wear them if they needed the vests to distribute the weight of their gear more evenly for medical reasons.)
In an interview with WFAE Wednesday, Bokhari defended what he wrote.
“There was a very specific strategy behind that text,” he said. “It was kind of a ‘We’re at the point of no return.’ I had been building to that for weeks and weeks.”
He said his pressure pushed Jennings to reverse the policy.
“If you read the end of that, it was meant to shock and awe someone into it before it becomes in the public square of knowledge,” he said. “It was: ‘Hey we can still find some middle ground and we’ve got 36 hours to do that.’ ”
Jennings declined to comment about the text messages.
In Charlotte’s council-manager form of government, City Council members are supposed to hold the city manager accountable for personnel decisions. In theory, they are not supposed to micromanage his personnel decisions.
Council members don’t hire or fire the police chief.
Bokhari was first elected in 2017. He is often the most outspoken council member, airing his frustrations with city staff in public.
Two years ago, Bokhari publicly called for John Lewis, the former chief executive of the Charlotte Area Transit System, to be fired for what he said was mismanagement. That was before it was revealed CATS had a significant maintenance backlog that led to a Lynx Blue Line train derailing in May 2022.
City Manager Marcus Jones said in a statement that "Chief Jennings has served this community for more than 30 years and has demonstrated time and again his strong leadership of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and his tremendous value to the City of Charlotte."
Jones added: "I have supported him and will continue to support him. I did speak with Mr. Bokhari and told him that I did not support his demands of the chief or his approach."
Dan Redford with the Fraternal Order of Police he's OK with the texts.
"Rarely do we see council members willing to fight this hard for cops," he said.
