Local
Four Charlotte officers resign after racist-message investigation; two remain suspended
CMPD identified six officers tied to a text-message scandal involving racist and other discriminatory content. Four have resigned, while two are suspended without pay as the city’s Civil Service Board considers their cases.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department on Oct. 19 identified six officers involved in an investigation into racist and discriminatory text messages: Mateo Juarez, Joseph Kelly, Alexander Larsen, Tredan Maronic, Matthew Osborn and Jeremiah Todman.
Four officers — Kelly, Osborn, Maronic and Juarez — resigned between Oct. 11 and Oct. 15, after an independent chain-of-command board cited them for termination on Oct. 9. Larsen and Todman remain suspended without pay. The Civil Service Board will make the final decision on their cases.
The messages reportedly included the N-word and boasts about stopping Black residents. Police Chief Estella Patterson has also said the messages showed sexual and religious bias and dated back years. CMPD said it was releasing information permitted under state personnel laws.
The texts surfaced during a State Bureau of Investigation inquiry into a seventh officer, Seth Elliott. The SBI arrested Elliott on July 29 on suspicion of illegally accessing a government computer in connection with alleged misuse of Flock surveillance technology. He was placed on unpaid administrative leave and resigned Aug. 4.
Community leaders have urged CMPD to take steps to prevent the officers from finding law-enforcement jobs elsewhere. Patterson has said the department will seek to have Larsen’s and Todman’s law-enforcement certifications revoked, which could bar them from serving as officers elsewhere in North Carolina.