The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department disclosed that five officers had resigned and a sixth remained suspended following an investigation into allegedly racist text exchanges among department personnel. The messages were discovered during a probe into misuse of the agency’s Flock camera surveillance system.
Police Chief Estella Patterson characterized the discovered communications as “deeply troubling” and stated that their emergence triggered a comprehensive examination of body-worn camera footage and arrest records belonging to the implicated officers. Patterson also announced that the department had requested the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct a civil rights investigation into the matter. The five officers who resigned were identified as Mateo Juarez, Joseph Kelly, Tredan Maronic, Matthew Osborn, and Alexander Larsen, all hired between 2023 and 2024. A sixth officer, Jeremiah Todman, hired in 2022, remained suspended pending further investigation and civil service board review.
According to reporting by local news outlets, some of the text messages contained racial slurs and made references to white nationalist organizations. Patterson stated her intention to pursue the revocation of the officers’ state law licenses in addition to their termination from the department. She emphasized that the episode had prompted departmental self-examination regarding interactions between officers and the public.
Patterson acknowledged the significance of the discovery, noting her personal perspective as an African American woman who began her career at the department. She stated that while the officers were hired before her tenure as chief, she remained committed to ensuring the behavior did not represent broader systemic issues within the organization. None of the officers involved in the text exchanges have been criminally charged as of the report date, and it remained unclear whether most had retained legal representation.
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