Five Charlotte police officers have resigned amid an investigation into racist group messages allegedly discussing a competition to pull over Black drivers.
Five Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers resigned after an investigation into alleged racist messages in a group chat.
The messages reportedly included a competition over who could pull over the most Black drivers, alongside racial slurs.
The messages were discovered during a separate investigation involving alleged misuse of police camera technology.
Police are reviewing officers’ records, while federal authorities have been asked to examine possible civil rights violations.
Five police officers in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the United States, have resigned amid an investigation into an alleged racist group chat in which officers reportedly discussed competing to pull over the highest number of Black drivers.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) confirmed that five officers had resigned by October 19, 2026, after an internal investigation uncovered messages containing racial slurs and other offensive comments. Two officers remained suspended without pay, according to a report by WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR news station. The department has also identified a seventh officer connected to the group chat who had resigned earlier in a separate investigation.
The allegations first came to public attention after local broadcaster WBTV reported that the messages included a competition over which officer could pull over the most Black drivers.
The messages reportedly contained repeated racial slurs, including the N-word, in discussions about using force against Black residents and firing weapons at them. The reported content also raised concerns about possible racial, sexual and religious bias among the officers involved.
CMPD Chief Estella Patterson described the allegations as “deeply troubling” and said the messages demonstrated biases that were inconsistent with the standards expected of officers entrusted with protecting the public.
“As a Black woman who began my career here, in this very department, it is especially painful and disheartening to hear concerns from our community about racism coming from within the ranks of this organization,” Patterson said.
The messages were reportedly discovered during a separate investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation into former CMPD officer Seth Elliott, who was accused of misusing the department’s Flock Safety camera network and other police technology.
Investigators reportedly downloaded data from Elliott’s phone during that inquiry, uncovering the group chat. The material was subsequently shared with CMPD, which launched its own investigation into the officers’ communications.
Following the discovery, the department reviewed the officers’ traffic stops, arrests, body-worn camera footage and complaint histories to determine whether their alleged biases had affected their treatment of residents.
Patterson said the initial review had not uncovered evidence that the officers specifically targeted Black residents in their recorded police encounters. However, she asked federal partners to investigate the possibility of civil rights violations.
The department also began reviewing officer communications and recruitment procedures and said it would pursue the revocation of the officers’ law-enforcement certifications, which could prevent them from working as police officers elsewhere in North Carolina.
The controversy prompted criticism from local leaders and civil rights advocates, who stressed that residents should be able to trust police officers to enforce the law fairly, regardless of race.
Charlotte Mayor Robert Harrington condemned the alleged conduct, saying racism and bias had no place in the police department and that every resident deserved fairness, dignity and respect from those sworn to protect them.
The investigation remains ongoing. The allegations concerning the group chat have not, by themselves, established that the officers unlawfully targeted or mistreated particular residents, and the department’s review of their conduct is continuing.