FOP cited homicides in call for National Guard in Charlotte. But killings are down
When the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police requested National Guard intervention in the city, it pointed to recent homicides and police staffing shortages.
But there have been fewer homicides this year in Charlotte than the previous two years, according to police data.
In a letter addressed to “Charlotte City Leaders” on Oct. 2, the FOP’s local president said the organization was requesting the National Guard’s assistance with a “violence crisis” in Charlotte.
To back up that request, the FOP noted there had been 15 homicides in Charlotte since the stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a light rail train Aug. 22. The deaths “underscore the urgency of this crisis,” the letter said.
But homicides in the city are trending down this year. There were 68 killings in Charlotte as of Oct. 10 compared to 86 in the same time frame in 2024, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department numbers. Those numbers do not include killings that CMPD found to be justified self-defense.
The city had 89 homicides total in 2023 and 111 in 2024.
The FOP’s rationale
When asked about the drop in homicides, the FOP’s local president, Daniel Redford, said in an email that his concern is more about crime in uptown Charlotte. Redford also answered some questions in a phone interview Thursday.
He cited data from CMPD showing that there have been nine uptown homicides between Jan. 1 and Oct. 5, an increase from three homicides in the same time period in 2024.
The local FOP on Facebook posted about other uptown crimes that have increased since last year, including aggravated assaults, personal and commercial robberies, and weapons violations.
- There have been 19 commercial strong-arm robberies and commercial armed robberies in 2025, up from 10 in 2024.
- There have been 31 personal strong-arm robberies in 2025, versus 26 in 2024. There’s been a drop in personal armed robberies from 28 in 2024 to 22 in 2025.
- Aggravated assaults with knives and guns were up to 111 in 2025 versus 86 in 2024. And there have been 70 weapons violations with a gun this year, versus 43 in 2024.
Redford said his letter calling for the National Guard was not in response to crime, but rather because CMPD is “dangerously understaffed.”
CMPD, like other law enforcement agencies in the U.S., has faced staffing shortages in recent years. In 2024, the department reported it was budgeted for 1,937 officers, but had a little over 1,600 positions filled. The shortages have impacted 911 call response times and have left officers feeling burdened and overworked, often having to sacrifice personal time to cover events and political rallies, Redford has said in previous interviews with The Charlotte Observer.
Trump’s desire to use National Guard
While presidents have deployed the National Guard to states in response to protests, enforcing laws, and assisting with disaster recovery historically, President Donald Trump’s deployment is unprecedented.
It is the first time troops have been deployed to address crime and assist law enforcement with patrolling cities — something the National Guard is not generally equipped to deal with, according to Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwab. The president is also typically barred from deploying the military for domestic law enforcement purposes under the Posse Comitatus Act, Schwab said in a press release.
Since being deployed to the nation’s capital in August, many guardsmen have been assigned to help with beautification projects like picking up trash and laying mulch, according to CNN. Others, according to NPR, have been sent to low crime areas.
Asked how he envisioned the guard helping CMPD in Charlotte, Redford said it would be difficult to answer before they’ve been activated.
He doesn’t envision the guard as taking reports or arresting people, Redford said — that all would still be handled by CMPD. Instead, he could envision them intervening in incidents like breaking up a fight if they were nearby, Redford said.
Redford said he envisioned the guard in Charlotte being a “visible presence” uptown, stationed at light rail platforms or the area of Trade and Tryon streets. The guardsmen would be a deterrent, and also be available nearby to assist CMPD officers who will still be making arrests.
Redford, who served in the Ohio Army National Guard, said the guard being asked to do beautification projects in Washington was a “misuse of their skills.” He said they should help officers address crime, or return home.
Asked if he was concerned that the guard being deployed to Charlotte could have a negative impact on officer morale, Redford said some could view it as signaling a failure from the department to handle crime in Charlotte.
But “I don’t want our officers to think this request was because of them, because it’s not,” Redford said. “Morale already sucks, so this is more of a request to help them be able to get their heads above water and breathe a bit easier.”
Public opposition to troop deployments in the homeland
The deployment of the guard in D.C. — which has cost an estimated $1.8 million per day, or nearly $200 million in total, according to USA Today — has proved to be unpopular with a majority of Americans.
A Quinnipiac University poll published in August found 56% of respondents disagreed with Trump’s deployment of National Guardsmen to Washington, D.C., while 41% supported the move.
And a Reuters/Ipsos survey found 58% of respondents think the president should only use armed troops for external threats, and 83% think the military should “remain politically neutral and not take a side in domestic policy debates.”
“We’ve been the only organization willing to say it out loud. We’ve taken criticism for that, but I stand by our decision,” Redford said. “Because if temporary support from the Guard helps restore peace of mind and allows CMPD to focus on the most urgent threats, then it’s a step worth taking.”
Response from police and Charlotte leaders
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced Oct. 8 that it would be launching two initiatives . One, the “Center City’s Restoration of Order, Wellness and Nonviolence,” will be called CROWN, police said.
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
