Incoming CMPD chief says she wants to eliminate officer vacancies and hire more
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police’s incoming chief, Estella Patterson, said her goal is to fill all officer vacancies at the department after she’s sworn in on Dec. 1. And once she’s done that, she said, she’s going to ask the city to hire more officers.
Patterson, 53, was introduced by City Manager Marcus Jones to a buzzing room at a press conference Monday morning at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center.
“We will seek the best and the brightest to fill our ranks,” Patterson said, with Jones, Mayor Vi Lyles and current Chief Johnny Jennings flanking her. “When we get to zero vacancies, Mr. Manager, I’m going to come up to you and to council, and I’m going to ask for more officers so that we can better serve this community.”
It wasn’t clear how many sworn vacancies there are currently within CMPD.
At times, Patterson and the other leaders cracked jokes about NFL team allegiances (Jennings is a Dallas Cowboys fan and Patterson a San Francisco 49ers fan), while at other times she spoke seriously about reducing violent crime.
“To the criminal element, hear me loudly,” Patterson said. “Your actions will not go unchecked.”
Patterson said she was interested in seeing more collaborations between the department and community members, as well as improved officer morale.
Jones announced Friday he had chosen Patterson; he has not yet released Patterson’s salary. She retired earlier this year as chief of the Raleigh Police Department and had previously worked for CMPD, rising to the position a deputy chief.
Incoming CMPD chief’s goals
Patterson said she is looking forward to embracing technology like first responder drones. Asked about addressing youth crime and violence, she said she would work closely with the state and the Department of Juvenile Justice on reducing incidents.
“Juvenile crime is difficult because our juveniles are not quite adults, but they’re doing adult crimes,” Patterson said. “We have to be sensitive to the fact that they are still young people, but we have to hold them accountable for their crimes as well.”
Patterson was in charge of CMPD’s Internal Affairs division when a CMPD officer shot and killed Keith Lamont Scott in 2016. The officer who shot Scott, Brentley Vinson, was cleared of any wrongdoing by the department.
Asked if she stood by that decision and how she felt about that decision now, Patterson said her policy has always been to treat people with “respect and dignity.”
“I think that was probably seven, eight, maybe even 10 years ago,” Patterson said. “My position is very clear when it comes to excessive force ... We would never, ever, ever have that. I would never uphold that.”
This story was originally published November 3, 2025 at 1:27 PM.
