Follow-Up: Five Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officers Resign Amid Racist-Text Probe; Q3 Crime Down 17%
CHARLOTTE — In a follow-up to GSM's October 13 report that six Charlotte-Mecklenburg officers faced termination over racist text messages, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, confirmed on October 19 that five officers under internal investigation for allegedly sharing racist text messages have resigned. According to ABC News, seven officers in total were cited for termination on October 9; five had resigned as of Monday, while the remaining two are on unpaid suspension pending review by the city's Civil Service Board. The department has released the officers' names and personnel files in response to public-records requests, and the internal investigation is ongoing.
The messages surfaced during an unrelated case: the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation found the group chat in phone data seized while investigating CMPD officer Seth Elliott, who is charged with misusing a license-plate-reader system. Local media reported the chat included racial slurs and a competition over who could pull over the most Black drivers. Police Chief Estella Patterson said at an earlier news conference that the texts, spanning several years, also showed sexual and religious bias, called them disgusting, and said the department would seek revocation of the officers' law-enforcement certifications.
Separately, CMPD's third-quarter figures show overall crime in Charlotte down 17% year over year, with property crime down 17% and violent crime down 15%. Homicides, however, rose 10% — 66 so far this year versus 60 at the same point last year — and rapes rose 7%. The department credited strategic deployment, higher officer visibility in high-activity areas and community partnerships.
The department's Entertainment District Unit made 402 arrests and seized 236 firearms in Uptown and South End from January through September. Uptown has hosted more than 130 major events this year while crime there remained low, police said. (GSM, based on ABC News and City of Charlotte releases)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 夏洛特市中心（Uptown）航拍，前景为美国银行体育场（资料图）。Precisionviews 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons 发布。Aerial view of Uptown Charlotte (file photo). By Precisionviews, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-10-13Six Charlotte Officers Face Termination Over Racist Text Messages
- 2026-10-19Follow-Up: Five Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officers Resign Amid Racist-Text Probe; Q3 Crime Down 17%This story
