Charlotte mayor promises reform after CMPD chief moves to fire 4 officers, supervisor
Hours after the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced that four police officers and a supervisor could be terminated for their roles in the death of Harold Jermaine Easter, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles on Friday called for reforms in the department.
“Through every part of what we do in this community, every action we take, I’m most proud that we can acknowledge when we need to do change,” Lyles said during a press conference. “I’m looking forward to the October release of our draft Community Safety Plan, because that plan not only deals with how do we address violence in this community, but it also addresses how we police this community as well.“
The comments followed CMPD’s announcement that Chief Johnny Jennings had recommended the firing of Officers Brentley Vinson, Michael Benfield, Michael Joseph and Shon Sheffield and Sergeant Nicolas Vincent.
Easter died on January 26 after he was arrested and detained in a police station.
In a press conference, Jennings said that the four officers and sergeant had “intimate knowledge” that Easter had swallowed cocaine during the traffic stop that led to his arrest. They left him unattended in an interview room for more than 20 minutes, even though it was clear Easter needed medical attention, Jennings said.
A review is pending to determine if the officers will be criminally charged.
Since early June, when CMPD officers fired tear gas on a crowd of mostly peaceful protesters, Lyles has condemned the department’s actions during that incident.
But local activists have repeatedly accused her of not speaking out strongly enough about the need for police reform.
Robert Dawkins, state organizer for SAFE Coalition NC, a police watchdog group, said Friday that Easter’s death shows that CMPD has a “pattern and practice” of brutality.
Dawkins said that Lyles and Charlotte City Council should support a proposal to conduct an independent audit of CMPD. The review would examine issues such as how many times police are recommended for firing but are returned to the force by Charlotte’s Civil Service Board, which is charged with holding hearings for police officers and other employees who appeal terminations or reprimands.
“There is no faith left in CMPD,” said Dawkins, who has worked with the department in the past on reforms. “We need City Council to acknowledge it has no faith in CMPD today. It is a total systemic failure.”
In her press conference, Lyles said she does not oppose an audit of CMPD. She said she supports the idea of reviewing whether officers should be used for traffic enforcement and diverting those resources to address violent crime.
Corine Mack, president of the Charlotte chapter of the NAACP, said Chief Jennings deserves credit for recommending the officers be fired.
But Mack said she questioned why it took so long for CMPD to try to terminate them.
“The only reason they are being held accountable is there is a video,” Mack said. “Without the video, this would not have happened. We need to look at our whole system of policing.”
Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones released a statement late Friday saying Jennings’ recommendation represents how CMPD is trying to hold officers accountable.
“Today’s announcement sends a message to our communities that we will be proactive and progressive in policing and will continue to make strides in how we serve our communities, ” Jones said.
This story was originally published September 19, 2020 at 6:30 AM.
