Two community groups plan to protest in Charlotte over a racist text scandal that cost six CMPD officers their jobs.
The FBI is also investigating potential civil rights violations tied to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers' group text thread, which contained racial, sexual and religious slurs.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and the North Carolina Poor People's Campaign are organizing the demonstration, WCNC Charlotte reported. Organizers are demanding CMPD release the text messages, remove all officers involved and end the department's contract with Flock Safety, a company that provides automated license plate reader technology.
The demonstration also calls for the release of body camera footage from the fatal police shooting of 47-year-old Curtis Massey. Those demands are separate from the text message allegations, according to WCNC.
Seven officers have been linked to the scandal. CMPD released their personnel files on Monday, Oct. 19, in response to public records requests, according to WBTV. Six have resigned. Jeremiah Todman remains suspended without pay and faces a Civil Service Board hearing.
The seventh officer, Seth Elliott, resigned Aug. 4 after State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) agents arrested him for allegedly misusing a government computer tied to the department's Flock camera system. That criminal probe led investigators to discover the group text thread, WBTV reported.
An internal chain-of-command board unanimously recommended termination for the six other officers on Oct. 9, according to WCNC. Between Oct. 11 and Oct. 15, four officers resigned. Alexander Larsen, the last to go, resigned Oct. 19, the Charlotte Observer reported.
The Observer found the officers may have been involved in more than 300 Mecklenburg County cases, with their names listed in at least 341 cases on the county's online records. Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather said his office will review those cases.
"The District Attorney's Office will not rely on any witnesses, police or otherwise, where there has been a demonstration of bias that would impact public safety, liberty, dignity," Merriweather said, according to WCNC.
CMPD Chief Estella Patterson said the department's internal review of arrests, traffic stops and body camera footage has not yet revealed evidence that residents were targeted. Patterson said she wants all seven officers' North Carolina law enforcement certifications revoked.
Charlotte Mayor Rob Harrington issued a statement condemning the officers' conduct, according to WCNC. Harrington said he has confidence in Patterson's handling of the investigation and pledged to work to earn and strengthen public trust.
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson said his office is examining whether the messages led to civil rights violations. The key question is whether officers acted on the biases expressed in the texts, Ferguson said, according to WBTV.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP has also pushed for accountability. Robert Dawkins, with ActionNC, told the Charlotte Observer on Oct. 15 that the pattern is familiar. "But it is tolerated," Dawkins said. "It's never going to be fixed if it's ingrained in the culture."
