At least seven Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers have either been told they face firing or quit over a racist text thread, according to WBTV, which cites anonymous sources. The messages reportedly include a contest over who could stop the largest number of Black drivers. They also reportedly use a racial slur repeatedly while discussing officers using force and firing weapons at Black residents.
The thread reportedly surfaced in a separate state case against officer Seth Elliott. Agents with the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) had been looking into how he used Flock, a network of license plate cameras. The department does not own those cameras, but its officers can reach other agencies’ devices through an agreement. Elliott was charged in July and is accused of a misdemeanor count of illegally accessing a government computer.
He was hired in February 2024, and the department placed him on paid administrative assignment in June before moving him to unpaid leave. Court records allege that he used the Flock system and other tools to assist a person tied to a narcotics case. According to an SBI affidavit, that person asked him to look up a vehicle that belonged to an undercover officer, and he allegedly passed back the results.
The thread reportedly came from his phone
Agents reportedly pulled texts and files off his phone and handed them to the police department. Reviewers then reportedly found a group thread in which officers made demeaning remarks about Black people. The department then opened an internal investigation of its own, as reported.
Last week, the officers in the thread reportedly appeared before an internal affairs review board. It is said to have recommended termination for numerous officers, who may still take their cases to the Citizens Review Board. The original report says Chief Estella Patterson has the final say. Elliott worked out of University City, and other officers in the thread came from North Tryon and Freedom.
Later reports lay out the process differently. They say six patrol officers are off the job without pay while they wait for hearings before the city’s Civil Service Board. A seventh officer tied to the case resigned in August, according to those reports. Personnel records cited by one station show the officers were hired within the last three years.
The outlet that broke the story has not confirmed every officer’s name, so it is leaving some names out. Elliott hung up when a reporter called and introduced himself, and he did not reply to a text. His attorney, George Laughrun, stated that the defense is readying for the criminal trial and would not comment further. Laughrun also said Elliott had quit the department over a month earlier.
The department answered by email without confirming or denying the reported details. A later statement said it “will not tolerate any behavior that contradicts our core values.” Rev. Corine Mack, who leads the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP, told a local station she is concerned about “bigots in uniform with state authority.”
Scrutiny of officers’ conduct on the road reaches beyond Charlotte, as when an ICE SUV chased one man in Texas.
Published: Oct 13, 2026 11:55 pm