CMPD Chief Jennings announces retirement, provides details of secret payment
Disclosing that the city council approved $305,000 for him a month ago in an agreement, Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced he plans to retire at the end of the year, five years after he was first sworn in to the agency’s top job.
“I have been humbled to serve this community for 33 years including the last 5 years as your police chief,” Jennings said in a post on social media site X around 7 p.m. Sunday. “Today, I’m announcing my retirement effective at the end of the year.”
Jennings, who first started at CMPD in May 1992, climbed in the agency before being promoted to deputy chief in 2016. The Tennessee native was sworn in as chief of the department on July 1, 2020.
He discussed his retirement in an interview jointly published Sunday by a new newsletter called The Charlotte Optimist and The Assembly.
In the interview, Jennings released details of his $305,000 closed-session payment from the city council, the amount of which was not previously confirmed to the public. He provided the newsletter with a “separation agreement” signed by him and City Manager Marcus Jones and dated May 8.
Even though the agreement between Jennings and Jones relates to public money, their agreement said they’d keep it secret. Two days after the state auditor announced an investigation, Jennings and Jones amended their agreement to reverse course and Jennings released it.
New details on Jennings’ legal threat to city
The city council’s vote on a payment to Jennings came in closed session on April 28.
WSOC reported that it followed text messages sent to Jennings in 2024 by then-council member Tariq Bokhari, who disagreed with Jennings over the type of bulletproof vests that should be issued to police officers. And it followed an ethics complaint made against Bokhari to the city by the local NAACP president, who solicited and utilized advice on what to write from aides to Jennings, WSOC reported.
Bokhari was on the side of the local Fraternal Order of Police in the dispute over the vests, and wanted officers to be allowed to wear what are called “outer carrier vests” — vests the chief didn’t like because of the militarized look.
The newsletter reported that Jennings was offended not so much by the text messages but by calls for his firing. A document published by The Charlotte Optimist says Jennings alleged to the city that his rights were violated under state and federal law.
It’s not clear which laws Jennings was citing or who he alleged violated his rights and how; any documents he sent to the city threatening legal action have not been released publicly.
Jennings gave the newsletter a document that breaks down the $305,000: a retroactive pay increase to January of $14,016.70; a retention bonus of $45,698.56; an extra 40 days of vacation valued at $45,284.70; $175,000 in severance; and $25,000 “for costs incurred related to the Dispute.”
Jennings’ annual salary was $280,334.
He took helm after George Floyd’s murder
Jennings took the top job just as trust in police plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minnesota.
Jennings was photographed shortly before he was sworn in, kneeling and raising his right fist during the height of Black Lives Matter activism following Floyd’s death.
In an interview with WCNC in June 2020, he said it was “in solidarity against what happened in Minneapolis.” The move drew some criticisms from officers.
As chief, he moved to try to rebuild trust between the department and residents. But, like other departments in the country, CMPD has struggled to recruit and retain police officers, especially following the pandemic.
Crime has fallen overall during his tenure — although Charlotte has seen an increase in homicides annually the last few years, defying a nationwide trend that has gone the opposite direction.
Jennings also led the department through the shooting of eight officers and deaths of four of them in east Charlotte last year. The April 29 shooting at Galway Drive was the deadliest day for police in North Carolina’s history.
Jennings immediately held news conferences to update the public on what happened and was tasked with helping console the families of those who died.
Jennings has been selective over which news outlets he speaks with. He has declined for many months to take any direct questions from The Charlotte Observer.
Fallout over payment
Bokhari resigned from his council seat earlier this year to take a job as deputy administrator at the Federal Transit Administration.
After the council vote, the Fraternal Order of Police began the process to hold a no confidence vote against the chief. The local law enforcement association is collecting officer votes now.
On Tuesday, State Auditor Dave Boliek sent a letter to the Charlotte mayor, and released it publicly, saying he would investigate the payment to Jennings.
As of then, neither Jennings, the city manager or interim City Attorney Anthony Fox had provided details on the payment and the city attorney had suggested that it might remain a secret forever.
“There is no tax dollar free from public scrutiny,” Boliek wrote to Mayor Vi Lyles.
Gov. Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson both recently visited Charlotte to make public safety announcements; Jennings did not appear alongside them.
Boliek issued a statement on Sunday evening:
“Our goal with launching this investigation was simple: bring transparency to the City of Charlotte. The people of Charlotte, along with all North Carolinians, deserve to know where their tax dollars are going.
“The release of the settlement information, as requested by the State Auditor’s Office, was the right decision. Our team will continue working with city officials as we wrap up the investigation. The State Auditor’s Office remains active in its mission of holding all levels of government accountable.”
This story was originally published May 25, 2025 at 8:48 PM.
